Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted
by Aishiteru Sabaku no Gaara
Summary: DeiSaso Deidara escapes the snake ninja Orochimaru after years of imprisonment. But when he wakes up, he finds that he has something else to worry about. Akatsuki. The only person that he feels he can trust is Sasori. What will happen? How will they fare?
1. Meeting

One and only disclaimer: Sasori and Deidara, as well as the rest of the Naruto cast, especially the Akatsuki...are not mine...if they were, Sasori and Deidara would be together...and you'd see Pein a hell of a lot more...and Sasori and Dei would not die...TT So sad...also...you'd see alot more of Gaara XD

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Author's Note: Alright...I've been thinking of this fic for forever. Ever since I got into DeixSaso. Which was A LONG time ago...anyways...I have just now gotten around to it due to the on-going GaaraxOC fic I have been doing. Which should end relatively soon...Anyways...entertain yourself with the fic.

Also...I apologize in advance for any OoC that may occur...On that note...the story begins.

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 1: Meeting_

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The young Iwa-nin had been running for days. It was not clear where he was, nor who was around. At the time, he did not care. All he cared was escaping his year long captor. The bastard had held the poor blond captive for over three years. The things he did to the artist were despicable and beyond forgiveness. The artist had grown scared and terrified. Before he was held captive and imprisoned to become a "toy," the boy had actually been very friendly and bubbly. Now, however, things were different. Being held captive for such a long time, people changed. Being tortured, raped, and even bound could do things to the psyche that could mentally damage someone for a very long time.

As the blond ran through the forest, trying to escape, he heard a slithering behind him. This only scared the boy further, breaking into a faster sprint. He nearly tripped due to his body wanting to move faster than his feet could carry him. He was, in no way, in his right mind. He was defiled. Corrupted. Changed. Tears streamed down the boy's face. He'll never forget the one time someone had actually stuck up for him. It was about five years ago. When he was thirteen, a young red headed boy had stepped in against his future captor. This went on for a while until the red head eventually stopped showing up. The blond figured he moved. Figured he gave up. In any case, it was not beneficial to the blond artist.

Lost in his current memories, the blond started to stumble more and lose his balance, eventually tripping and falling onto the ground. His face hit the ground roughly. His once heavenly blond hair now soiled with mud and many other earthly things. He tried to get up. He realized he couldn't. He had twisted his ankle. He beat the ground repeatedly in defeat, crying in frustration. How pathetic he must have looked to any bystanders. He had run miles from Oto (sound village). In fact, from the looks of his surroundings, he was close to Konoha. He had no specific destination, but something was drawing him toward Konoha. Probably because he heard of the ninja skills they had. The blond had been trained to be a ninja from Iwa. But that all ended, even though his training was complete anyways, when a certain snake had kidnapped him right from his home. He escaped once. He went back to Iwa for a few months. Only to be shunned and banned from the village for his emo mentality and hobby for blowing things up. This didn't affect him, however. He was now so desperate to get away from the slithering snake-nin that he didn't care about being banned from his village for his artwork. All he cared about was finding a new home. If he couldn't find one in Konoha, he would move to Suna. After all, the one that had saved him looked like a Suna ninja.

"Dei-chan," called a deep ominous voice. The boy's eyes widened. How had he caught up to him so quickly? Had he really been so lost in thought that he had forgotten to get up and run some more? Or was it that he lost track of time due to his heavy, highly rare, thinking. In any case, his captor was not approaching way too fast. The boy forced himself to his feet with a sharp pain darting up his leg and reaching his brain. His ankle was definitely twisted. Nonetheless, the boy pushed on, desperate to regain his life. He pushed on until something wrapped around his leg and dragged him to the ground. He screamed as he slid backward, much to his dismay. He screamed bloody murder and then was rendered unconscious by a sharp blow to his head. He had failed.

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Hours later, the blond awoke to a pain in his head. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around. He brought his hand up to his head, holding his forehead as if he had a hangover. He groaned in pain and then he remembered past events before he fell asleep. His eyes widened with a gasp. He shot up to a sitting position and looked at his wrists. His eyes widened. He wasn't bound. His cerulean orbs searched the room. It wasn't the room where the snake-nin kept him for his torture or devious sex acts...so where was he? As he continued to search around, his eyes landed upon a figure in the corner. It was fairly dark so he could not see it well. His eyes just simply lingered on the shadowed figure. The only thing that was for certain was the red hair that stuck out. He looked harder, his eyes adjusting to the dark. The figure moved and started to walk toward him. The boy's breathing increased due to anticipation and fear. He started to inch away and fell off the bed, knocking his head on the wall. He groaned again, this time, with a whimper added. The figure shuffled over to his side and gently and gingerly touched his cheek. The skin upon skin was soft. The artist's vision snapped to his side and he started to back further away against the wall, coming to a corner. The figure spoke. His voice monotonous and devoid of emotion. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you," it said simply. 

The artist remained quiet. He didn't know what to make of this situation. The voice did not belong to the captor he had endured for years. The blond tilted his head sideways for the man to continue. It was no doubt night considering the scarce lighting. "W-who are you, un?" he asked. His voice held fear. He was used to it. He had spoken this way for years. It did not surprise him in the least that he was scared now.

The figure remained silent. The blond made out a smirk. The figure drew closer and reached past the blond to turn on a light. Light flooded a small portion of the room and the blond rubbed his eyes fiercely, trying to adapt to the intrusion. He whined a little until he could finally remove his hand from his eyes, used to the light now. He had become somewhat nocturnal due to the dim to no lighting in the place he was held for so long. He feared it messed with his eyes. As soon as the blond opened his eyes, he saw a red headed man kneeling in front of him. His eyes were a reddish brown, almost auburn. The artist stared on. His face was devoid of any emotion. He looked so young. He could be younger than the blond. But then again, looks never said anything about a person. His eyes were blank, as was his facial expressions. He wore a black cloak with red clouds printed on them. His hand rested on an uplifted knee as he stared at the blond. The artist's cerulean eyes met the brown ones once again. He waited for the man to explain. Seeing this, the man smirked. He got up and started to walk away. The blond was about to call out until the man started to speak. His voice level and somewhat soft. "Sasori," he said simply. He answered the blond's question at least. He turned back to the blond on the other side of the bed, still huddled in the corner, hugging his knees now. He looked pathetic. The red head walked back and saw the blond visibly shrink and flinch. No doubt he had been abused. The man known as Sasori extended a hand to the blond. He tried to smile, but all that came out was another smirk. The blond's vision drifted to the red head's hand and then back at his eyes. It looked as if he wouldn't hurt him. The blond reluctantly took his hand and the red head grasped it, pulling him up and into his chest accidentally. The blond stayed there and made no signs of moving. Sasori looked down at him and stepped away nonchalantly. He walked back on the other side of the room and to a desk, seating himself. He sat there, working on something that the blond couldn't really see.

The blond finally spoke in the smallest voice. "D-Deidara..." he said quietly, sitting back on the bed, playing with his hands in his lap, head drooped down depressingly. Sasori turned to him and nodded, facing him completely, dropping his tools to turn his full attention to the blond, knowing full well that there would be many questions he was expecting to have to answer, much to his disliking. The blond just sat there quietly, though.

Sasori was confused. Did he not have any questions for him? Did he not find it odd that he was in the middle of the forest, near naked, and now he was with a mysterious person that he didn't even know, now clothed, in the man's bed? This guy was either stupid, or too shocked to care at the moment. Sasori decided to strike up something that might push the blond to ask questions. Sasori sighed quietly and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, inspecting the blond. "What were you doing in the forest half-naked?" he asked, devoid of all emotions.

Deidara flinched and tears started to stream from his face. "I..." he started, voice shaking worse than anything Sasori had ever heard. "I was...escaping..." he said quietly. Sasori didn't understand and waited for the blond to continue. He did after a minute or two. "I was imprisoned..." he said, averting his glance to the side, his blond hair covering the left side of his face, shielding the entirety of his face. Sasori just remained quiet. He hated to be made waiting, but he could see that Deidara was having some kind of issues. After all, it did seem traumatizing to him. Suddenly, Deidara looked at the man to see him gazing intently at him. "I...don't want to talk about it, un," he said sadly.

Sasori nodded. He returned to his work on the desk without another word. A knock came at his door and Deidara jumped. Sasori didn't let this go unnoticed. He looked at the blond and raised an eyebrow quizzically. Deidara was now shaking involuntarily and rather violently from what the red head could tell. Pushing it aside for the time being, he got up and answered the door. Deidara watched on and saw a man with blue tinted skin standing at the door, peering inside a little past Sasori. Sasori let him in freely, against his will from what the young artist could tell. The blue skinned man walked over to Deidara quietly, grinning madly. His teeth were pointed like those of a shark. Deidara even saw gills on his cheeks. Deidara started to shake even more violently. Sasori noticed this and spoke to the shark man, clad in the same attire as himself. "That's far enough, Kisame," he said with authority.

The shark, known as Kisame stopped and continued to inspect the blond from where he was. He looked at Sasori and saw impatience on his face like always. "Itachi told me to come get you two for a meeting. Leader wishes to speak with us," he grinned, his voice somewhat teasing and somewhat annoying to Deidara. He remained quiet though, until he heard the "you two" part.

"Wh-why me?" he asked quietly, fearful for his life yet again. Escape one weirdo, gain two more. Just perfect.

Kisame smirked. He looked at the broken blond. "He has an offer for you, blondie," he smirked. He looked to Sasori, who nodded in understanding, signaling for the shark man to leave. He did and Sasori's attention immediately shot back to the blond.

Deidara looked broken. He looked depressed. He looked unstable. Sasori approached the blond and stared down at his pathetic form for a minute before speaking. "Come. Leader doesn't like waiting, much like myself," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Deidara nodded and hesitantly got off the bed. He looked down at his clothes to see that he was wearing a black tank with fish net over it and black pants, resembling Sasori's under the cloak, which Sasori quickly buttoned up. Sasori walked over to the door and looked back at Deidara, waiting for him to hurry up. Deidara did and met up with Sasori out of the door, following him skittishly. He looked around the place he was in and suddenly felt at home. They walked down a hallway, doors on either side. They walked out of the hallway and to the left was a kitchen. It was rather messy and Deidara resisted the undying urge to clean it. He had always been a sort of neat freak. Past the kitchen, directly in front of it, was a living room, complete with a sofa, two chairs, a table, and papers strewn about the table. Deidara's brow suddenly twitched as he took on the sight. _'How messy, un,'_ he thought to himself with annoyance. He noticed that Sasori had glanced back at him and stopped walking. Apparently, Deidara had stopped to investigate and take in the messy sight. As soon as Deidara realized that he had stopped and Sasori was waiting, somewhat impatiently, he resumed his place behind Sasori, following him out the door and next door to a bigger building.

They entered and Deidara immediately noticed the other six people there. They all sat in a certain order. He noticed someone in front of him, in his line of sight. He had orangish-brown hair with piercings everywhere. Nose studs, lips, ears...probably more that weren't visible. He looked intimidating with his fiery eyes. His chair had a symbol on the back: "zero." To the man's right, there was an empty chair with the symbol for "blue." To the right of that chair, there was a woman with blue hair pulled back in a neat bun with a paper flower. Deidara deemed her beautiful. The back of her chair read "white." She sat quietly, eyes closed, hands in her lap. To her right was a black haired man with red eyes. He had bags under his eyes. He didn't look too friendly either. The back of his chair read "scarlet." To his right sat a green venus-fly-trap-looking man. The right side of his face was black with a yellow eye. The left looked human enough, save the green skin, with a yellow eye as well. He looked impassive. The back of his chair read "boar." Deidara stopped partly at the weird names these chairs had. He continued on his investigation and looked at the others. To the plant man's right, there was another empty chair. The back of that chair read "sky." Deidara's eyes widened. He recognized that sign before. That was the snake-nin's ring he always wore! Deidara refrained from screaming and breaking down right there. He moved on quickly. To the right of that feared chair was the shark man from before, Kisame. The back of his chair "south." To his right sat a peculiar looking man with beady eyes wearing a mask. He looked rather odd. Deidara brushed it off. He was in no position to judge how people looked. He too must not look like a beauty queen right now. The back of the man's chair read "north." To his right was a silver haired man. He looked rather ill-tempered. Deidara made a mental note not to piss him off, just to be sure. On the back of his chair was "three." And finally, to the right of that man, sat Sasori. On the back of the red head's chair read "jewel." All of them donned the same black cloaks with red clouds.

Once he was done inspecting the chairs and people, he heard a voice calling him. It was deep. He followed the voice and saw that the "zero" man with orangish hair was speaking. He motioned Deidara over to a seat next to him. Deidara followed, head down and sat next to him. He felt so nervous for some reason. It was then that he noticed that everyone's eyes were on him. He shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. The man to his left cleared his throat. He started to speak. "What's your name, kid?" he asked, more like demanded.

Deidara sort of jumped. "Deidara, un," he answered, avoiding eye contact, keeping his head down and his hands nervously in his lap.

The man nodded, acknowledging his answer. "Well, Deidara. It has come to our attention that Orochimaru had come into contact with you. We hear that you have a unique kekkei genkai. Iwa, yes?" he asked again. Deidara nodded. The man nodded as well. "Your kekkei genkai would be useful to us."

"Useful to you, un?" he asked, looking up at the man, who was burning holes in his eyes with his impenetrable stare. Deidara stared, nonetheless.

The man nodded and smirked. "Ever heard of the Akatsuki?" he asked, looking at him, the others quiet and looking on.

Deidara's eyes grew wide for a moment. He then nodded and smiled brightly. "The Akatsuki is a well known, and feared, group of rogue ninja that are all listed in the Bingo book. All are said to be S-class criminals that severed all ties with their villages," he said as if reading it from a history book.

Everyone's eyes grew wide, including the man next to Deidara. Kisame was the one to speak. "Certainly did his homework, huh?" he laughed. Sasori was even slightly impressed. This did not go unnoticed by the man that had just spoke with Deidara. Kisame continued. "How you know so much about us, kid?" he asked with a grin.

Deidara sighed and pressed his fingers to his forehead. "How could I _not_ hear about you guys, un?" he sighed with frustration. "My village refused to let me back in, claiming that I was a part of you guys, considering me a terrorist for my...art, un," he grinned.

The man to Deidara's left smirked. "I see. Well. Your services are requested," he said as an invitation into the group. Deidara sighed and shook his head. Everyone looked rather disappointed, except for the red-eyed, black-haired man. He just looked annoyed and offended. "Why not?" the man pressed further, getting harsher by the minute.

"Orochimaru is a part of your little 'organization.' I wish no part in any contact with that loathsome man, yeah," he said simply, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes hard and hateful.

The black-haired man stood and worked his way over to Deidara. Said blond looked up at him and earned a punch in the jaw, flying out of his chair. Deidara sat up and glared at the man, wiping his lip. "What was that for, un?!" he growled.

The man just stared evilly at him. "When Leader offers an invitation, it is not a deniable request. It is an order. You are joining the Akatsuki," he ordered. Everyone watched on and Sasori looked somewhat flustered. He gripped the sides of the chair, holding himself in place.

Deidara smirked and stood up, taking on a fighting stance. "I said, _'no,'_" Deidara said defiantly.

Before the man that clocked him could intervene and punch him again, the "Leader" stood between them. "Enough, Itachi." The man now known as Itachi stood motionlessly, glaring at the blond. The Leader then turned to Deidara. "Here is how it will work. If you can defeat Itachi in a fight, you will not be obligated to join. However, if you lose, you are required to join us. Is that understood?" he said authoritatively.

Deidara sighed and stood straight, holding his head. "Fine..." he said, looking at the ground. There was no easy way to win with these guys. Deidara sighed again and looked back at the leader. "When?" he said with evident boredom.

The leader smirked. "Tomorrow afternoon. For now, rest. You look like a train wreck." With that, the Leader started to walk off. He stopped in the doorway to what looked like his "office" and looked over his shoulder at them all. "Meeting dismissed." With that, he went into a room. Everyone started to leave, save Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori.

Deidara glared at Itachi while Sasori was ready to jump in and Kisame looked at Sasori, observing the ex-Suna's movements carefully. He smirked. Sasori had taken a liking to this boy. Kisame looked back at the other two and could literally see sparks flying between them as they stared, or rather...glared, at each other. If looks could kill...Kisame sighed and stepped in. He sighed again. "Come on, guys. Save it for tomorrow. Sasori, could ya take the brat to your room?" he asked the red head.

Sasori quietly nodded and walked up to the blond, grabbing his arm. Deidara visibly relaxed and went along with Sasori. Once in the room, Sasori closed and locked the door. He turned to Deidara. Deidara had his head low again. No doubt he would get scolded or even worse...beaten. Sasori sighed and Deidara looked up at him. He was waiting for a slap, a yell, anything. Nothing came. Just Sasori looking at him. "Wh-what, un?" Deidara asked quietly.

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Itachi has a point," he said simply. He went over to his work place and sat down again. Deidara took his place on the bed. With that, Sasori took to being quiet. Deidara became impatient. He was about to say something until Sasori continued. "Something is on your mind?" he stated.

Deidara's eyes widened a little. It was eerie how the man could read him without looking at him. "Er...should I know anything before fighting this Itachi guy, un?" he asked, looking out the window. Sasori snickered a little. Deidara's vision drifted back to Sasori. "What's so funny, un?" he asked defensively.

"Quiet, brat," Sasori said half heartedly. Deidara raised an eyebrow, but obeyed. "Do you honestly think I would betray a team mate on a whim?" he asked, looking at Deidara, amusement playing on his face. Deidara blushed and slumped a little. "Heh. Now you understand." Sasori turned back to the table and started to mess with vials. Deidara looked at Sasori again and averted his sight to the ground again. "Just know that he uses the Mangekyo Sharingan."

Deidara's eyes widened. "No way, un!" he said, falling on his back on the bed with his hand over his eyes. "I'm so screwed, yeah!" he whined. He heard Sasori sigh. Deidara sighed as well. He started to look around. A thought occurred to him. "You didn't happen to see my pouch, un?" he asked, looking around the room.

Sasori looked curiously at him for a minute. "Pouch?" he repeated. He thought for a moment. Sasori got up and went to his closet. He opened it and picked up a pouch, showing it to Deidara. He raised an eyebrow. "This it, brat?" he asked, throwing it to him.

Deidara smiled and nodded. "Yep. Thanks, un. I'm going to need it..." he sighed. He unzipped it and looked inside. _'Plenty...if I'm lucky,'_ he thought to himself, regrettably. It would have to be enough. He looked at his hands and saw that he still had the gloves on. He was partly thankful. He noticed Sasori get back to his desk. He started working again. Deidara couldn't help but wonder what he was doing. He brushed it off and laid down on the bed.

Sasori heard rustling and didn't bother to turn. _'Brat...'_ he thought to himself. "Get some sleep, brat. You're going to need to be at full power tomorrow," Sasori said.

Deidara brushed off the "brat" comment yet again. No sense in worrying about it considering he would be out of here soon enough. He'd beat Itachi shamelessly and waltz right out as if nothing ever happened. But then what? This thought saddened Deidara. Become part of the Akatsuki and become a wanted criminal, but escape Orochimaru. Or. Beat Itachi and not join Akatsuki, and risk being made into another "toy" by Orochimaru. Neither were favorable. In fact, it just made the young artist's head spin. He slumped into the covers and soon, sleep overcame him. Hopefully the red head wouldn't pull an Orochimaru while he was sleeping...

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**TBC**


	2. Join or Not?

A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter. Sorry if it was too long...I just didn't deem it necessary to break it up. Besides...it fit together rather nicely. In my opinion...anyways...enjoy the next chapter. And I forgot to mention...Deidara doesn't have the scope on his left eye yet. He will in time though. Trust me

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 2: Join or Not?_

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It was the next morning and Deidara had barely slept between the nightmares and terrifying memories plaguing him throughout the night. He heard a soft voice calling him from his slumber. It sounded so familiar, yet so foreign. The voice called him again. Deidara's eyes fluttered open. He looked around and saw Sasori hovering above him, standing by the bed, leaning over Deidara. Deidara looked up at him. "Sasori, un?" he asked sleepily. He blinked a few times until his eyes were finally adjusted to Sasori's form hovering above him. He stared down at Deidara and Deidara stared up at him. "What time is it?" he asked, still sleepy.

Sasori's expression changed to that of annoyance. "About noon. Get up. You need to eat before the fight," he said sternly. He got up himself and walked back over to the table he was messing around at last night. Deidara sat up and held his head. He had only gotten about three hours total sleep last night. Why the stupid leader had to set the fight for today, no one knew. Maybe he was about as impatient as Sasori. Who knew? All Deidara knew was that this was not going to be good. His thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages of joining Akatsuki had a part in him not sleeping too. He weighed out the options while he laid there in the darkness. Neither of the choices seemed favorable. But then again...what other choice did he have? His life would be miserable no matter what he did. So what did it matter?

Deidara dragged himself from bed and stretched, his shirt rising up a few inches. A faint odor hit his nose and he followed it to Sasori's table. It smelled sort of...odd. He walked over and looked down at a purple liquid. "Poison, yeah?" he asked. Sasori jumped a little and looked up at him with a glare. He nodded and Deidara nodded too. He stood up completely and looked around the room. "Shower?" he asked.

Sasori sighed. It was clear that he would not get any work done with the brat asking him questions like crazy. He stood up after finishing his poison and looked at Deidara. He started walking out of the room, Deidara in tow, and walking down the hall. He stopped at a door and nodded his head to the door. He looked Deidara over. Sasori rolled his eyes. "You clothes will be on the bed when you return," he said, answering the unspoken question. He started to walk off.

Deidara stumbled around a few words until he shyly spoke, stopping Sasori in his tracks. "Thank you, un," he whispered shyly. Sasori stopped at those words. No one had ever thanked him. He looked at the blond over his shoulder and stared for a moment. He nodded and continued on his way. Deidara watched the red head leave and calmly went into the bathroom. He started up the shower and took his hair down. He was still covered in mud and other unmentionable things from previous experiences. He shuddered. His hair was matted and hard. Dirt clung to it. Leaves. Twigs. Everything earth-related. It disgusted the blond artist. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He lifted his bangs a little and frowned at himself. The left side of his face held a single bruise. This was the reason he kept his hair in his face. Orochimaru had beaten him so bad. His lip was sort of busted. He hadn't realized the extensive damage the vile snake-nin had caused until now. His face still looked feminine and attractive, but it was marred with an ugly bruise. Be had a bruise on his neck from where the bastard bit his neck, claiming him, he supposed. Either way, it sickened him beyond anything else.

Once Deidara felt the steam rise from how hot the water was, he stepped in it after disrobing and locking the door. He let the scolding hot water pour down on him, loving the feeling of being clean. He would rather burn off these markings than live another day with them present. It irked him. He had been used. Nothing more but a toy. A sex toy. A disposable object he could have sworn Orochimaru would have gotten tired of. He didn't. Deidara feared he never would. The water started to burn his skin and Deidara welcomed it. Dirt started falling from his hair and twigs and leaves followed suit.

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Sasori sat in his room, concocting multiple poisons. He had been at work for a few days. Concentrating. Enjoying the silence so he could work in peace. Yet, for some reason, the strange blond was occupying his thoughts. And Kami knew how possessive he was over him all of a sudden. He didn't even know the brat and yet, here he was tempted to kill Orochimaru over him. Sasori shook his head, trying to shove the thought from his mind. He needed the utmost concentration when making poisons. If he were to screw up, it would blow up in his face. Figuratively speaking. Yet, he couldn't concentrate. He wanted to know why Orochimaru took such an interest in the blond Iwa-nin. He didn't seem too different to him. He seemed quite normal. But then again, Orochimaru had done the same to-

Sasori shook his head angrily. He let out a growl and turned back to his poisons. It was pointless in involving himself in other's problems. He could care less. No doubt Deidara would lose to Itachi and be forced to join the Akatsuki, but still. It was none of his concern what went on between his former partner and the soon-to-be member of Akatsuki. He leaned back in his chair. He was thinking too much. He let out an annoyed sigh and after a few minutes, went back to work with renewed motivation. He started to perfect the poison. He smirked at how easy it was. His work was cut short, however, when he heard a knock at the door. He grumbled something along the lines of "stupid team mates won't ever get any work done" and answered the door. As soon as he opened the door, a half naked, wet, blushing Deidara greeted him shyly. Sasori's eyes widened. Thank Kami he wore a towel. The ex-Suna-nin's eyes traveled over his muscular frame and he found he was staring. He quickly stopped himself and yanked the boy inside. "Stupid brat," he mumbled almost inaudibly. Sasori led him to the bed and sat him down sort of roughly. Deidara sat on the bed and rubbed his arm gingerly. Sasori had hurt him. He also seemed rather...flustered. The red head rummaged through his closet and picked out some suitable clothes for Deidara. He threw another black tank top and fish net shirt to him with some black pants and shoes. He went back to the desk and started to occupy himself in completing the poison he originally started.

Deidara started to get dressed and noticed that the clothes fit perfectly. He looked at himself and raised an eyebrow. _'Why do these clothes suit me so well?'_ he asked himself as he inspected his, or rather...Sasori's, wardrobe. He nervously and quietly glanced at Sasori. The man seemed to be purposely occupying himself to avoid Deidara. Had he done something to annoy him? Deidara was about to find out. "Um...Sasori, un?" he asked quietly. Sasori cursed his luck and, with an eerie calmness, put down anything he was working on to look at Deidara. Deidara averted his glance to the side and slumped forward. "Do you...hate me, un?" he asked quietly, unsure of why he even cared.

Sasori's eyes widened a little. He was about to answer but another knock came at the door. Sasori was really loathing this day. He angrily got up and went over to the door, once again, calmly opening it. He looked up at the person standing there to find Kisame yet again. "Hey. Leader says to get your asses outside now." Sasori nodded and looked back at Deidara. Deidara sighed in defeat and grabbed his pouch with his clay. He strapped it to his waist and put his hair up again, draping it over his left eye again. He followed Sasori and Kisame out and glared at everything he passed. They stopped outside and Kisame looked back at Deidara. "We're going to a field somewhere the Leader knows of so you can fight without being bothered. Of course, we will be there too. But still," he said, taking off swiftly. Sasori looked at Deidara and earned a sigh. Deidara took off almost as fast as Kisame and Sasori followed right behind.

They arrived at a barren field and Deidara skidded to a halt right next to Kisame. Every Akatsuki member from the day before was present. Deidara saw Itachi waiting a bit away from him and Deidara glared at him. Sasori took his place with the others and the Leader signaled for them to begin. Deidara wasted no time in throwing shuriken at the Uchiha. He dodged. Of course. Deidara was expecting this. He proceeded to stick his hand in the pouch tied at his waist. His gloves have been off since the shower. He let his hand rest inside, not wishing to give away his kekkei genkai secret so easily. After a bit, he pulled out his hand. In his hand was a tiny clay bird. He threw it to Itachi and put his hands up as if praying. The bird suddenly poofed large and Itachi's eyes widened a bit. Deidara smirked. The bird started to fly around Itachi. Though this was a shadow clone, Deidara would not allow himself to be fooled. As he started to scan the surroundings for another Itachi, he quickly pinpointed the Uchiha in a tree not far from the shadow clone, hanging upside down. He quickly made some clay spiders and had them run over to where Itachi was while making the Uchiha believe he was still fooled by the shadow clone. As soon as the spiders were in range, they easily locked onto the real Itachi without him taking notice. He smirked. "Katsu!" he said, detonating the spiders. A grunt was emitted as Itachi fell from the tree and to his knees. He looked up at Deidara and glared. Deidara smirked. Everyone's jaw's dropped, save the Leader's and the plant man. "I'm not an idiot, Itachi, un," Deidara said angrily with a smirk.

Sasori watched on, trying to refrain from interfering. But at the same time, he wanted to see Deidara's abilities. Maybe he actually could beat Itachi. This thought disturbed him a little. As he watched on, he saw that Deidara was skilled in explosives. Itachi just dodged and taunted him. Deidara had a short temper, but his fighting was rather impressive. He watched intently.

Kisame looked over at Sasori and smirked. _'He has definitely taken a liking to this one. I bet he's _hoping _that he'll lose,'_ he thought, returning his sight to the battle at hand. _'Kid's not that bad,'_ he mused again as another hit was landed on Itachi. Kisame's jaw just about dropped when Deidara started to fight seriously. He was using less explosives and more hand-to-hand. He didn't prove effective, but he was still impressive.

Itachi kept dodging the blond's attacks. He purposely let the blond's explosives hit him just to get his ego up so he would be easier to beat. Nothing ruined a fight quicker than an overly expanded ego. Itachi dodged all the hand-to-hand punches, kicks, and kunai attacks. He leaped backward and glared at the blond. He watched as the blond watched his movements. He had no choice. He would use his Mangekyo Sharingan and put the boy in his place. He pointed a finger at the blond. "You are too arrogant," he said simply.

Deidara growled and lunged at him. He started to slash at him with his kunai until a figure grabbed him from behind, pushing him into the ground. He grunted as he bit his lip. A voice he feared for so long started to talk to him. His eyes widened. He looked over his shoulder at the person and saw Orochimaru. His eyes widened as Itachi stood a few feet away staring as if nothing were happening. Orochimaru hissed in Deidara's ear and Deidara emitted a fearful scream, kicking and starting to flail desperately. Orochimaru forced said blond to his back and started to rip at his clothes. Deidara slashed at him with the kunai and growled. He got to his knees and proceeded talk to himself. "It's not real...it's not real...he's not here...he's not here."

Everyone watched on as Deidara muttered incoherently to himself as Itachi stood there watching, motionlessly. Kisame smirked and broke into laughter. "Itachi has him caught in the Mangekyo Sharingan," he laughed. Everyone watched on and Sasori felt his blood boil. He resisted the urge to walk over to Itachi and kill him. Merely because he didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

Deidara stayed on the ground. He started rocking back and forth, holding himself so tight his nails dug into this arms, drawing blood. His visible eye was extremely large. His face was that of a demented psychopath. He seriously looked broken. A few more minutes of this and the Leader was the one to call it off. "Alright, Itachi. You win. Stop it. If not, he'll be useless to us," he ordered, sighing in frustration.

Itachi released the Mangekyo Sharingan and blinked. Deidara still laid on the ground, holding himself and whimpering. He was shaking rather violently as he laid there. Sasori, having enough, walked over to him and knelt beside him. The Leader watched on. "Sasori. He will be your partner from now on. When you finally shut him up, his things are going to be waiting in your room," the Leader said before everyone walked away, leaving the two there by themselves.

Sasori looked down at Deidara. "Hey-" Deidara suddenly backed away in fear, staring at Sasori as if he had just seen a ghost. His whimpering grew worse and Sasori just stared on, wondering what Orochimaru did to him to make him this way. He sighed and walked over to Deidara, who was backed so close up to a tree, he could be confused as Zetsu. Sasori approached him and knelt in front of him like before. "Deidara," he said sternly. Deidara looked at him fearfully. He was still mumbling something incoherently and Sasori sighed again. He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and applied pressure. This was rather frustrating. He breathed deep and looked back at Deidara who had tried to suppress his whimpers and cries to almost nothing. Sasori watched him for a moment. "It's over. Calm down," he advised. Deidara slumped against the tree, pulling his knees to his chest. Sasori then noticed cuts along his arms. He quickly grabbed his arms and looked at them. He had purposely inflicted pain upon himself. Deidara weakly complied with Sasori, not having any fight left in him. Sasori grabbed Deidara's chin and forced him to look him in the eye. "Why did you do this?" he asked calmly, gesturing to his arms.

Deidara looked at his arms. He tried to look away, but Sasori held him firmly in place. Deidara looked into Sasori's eyes and saw concern and anger. He looked to the side and his tears stopped. His face still held sadness. "I didn't want to live anymore...un," he said in a voice that could barely be heard.

Sasori's eyes widened a little and his grip on Deidara's chin tightened. Deidara looked back at Sasori and Sasori's grip loosened, seeing that he understood he wanted him to look at him. "Why?" he asked simply. It came out harsher than he intended. Deidara flinched a little and Sasori tried to redeem himself. "Why?" he asked softer.

Deidara looked Sasori straight in the eyes. "Would you want to live anymore if your whole existence revolved around you being nothing more than some sort of sex toy to another against you will?" he asked seriously. Sasori's eyes widened. He stared at Deidara's pitiful face and felt compelled to hug him. He resisted, but only by a little. He lowered his head and Deidara laughed pathetically. "You understand, yeah?" he asked.

Sasori was silent. He looked back at Deidara for a minute before grabbing Deidara's wrist and helping him up. Deidara looked at Sasori with confusion and worry. Did he do something to anger the red head? If so, what did he do? Deidara started to stress. Instead of getting a slap or beating or anything of the sorts, however, Sasori just held him to his chest gently. Deidara's eyes widened, but then he started to cry against him. Sasori held him close.

It was a couple of minutes later until Deidara calmed down. He sniffled lightly and looked up at Sasori. "Th-thanks, un," he said, smiling sadly. Sasori nodded and grabbed his wrist, leading him back to their new home, that they alone shared. Deidara looked down at his wrist and blushed. He just kept quiet and followed Sasori. "S-Sasori, un?" he called quietly as they made it half way back. Sasori stopped and looked at Deidara. "You understand what I was talking about, yeah?" he asked, looking at Sasori shyly. Sasori nodded and waited for him to continue. There had to be more. He wouldn't just stop him right then and there and ask a simple question. No. There was more Deidara wished to say. And indeed he talked. "Is it...because you went through the same thing, un?" he asked sadly.

Sasori inwardly flinched. Why did Deidara have to be so observant? Sasori let out a sigh and nodded sadly. "Yes, Deidara. Now come on. We need to get home before it rains," he sighed, pulling said blond along. Deidara walked alongside Sasori, the red head still latched onto his wrist.

It was only another couple of minutes before they were back at Deidara's and Sasori's shared home. Sasori opened the door and led Deidara inside. They walked past the living room, down the hall, and to Sasori's bedroom. Sure enough, just as the Leader had said, there was a cloak and ring on the bed. Deidara eyed it suspiciously. "Er...Sasori, un?" he asked, walking over to the bed. Sasori acknowledged the blond. "I take it...I'm in the Akatsuki now, yeah?" he asked dumbly.

Sasori snickered lightly. He walked over to Deidara. "Yes. And you are my partner," he said in his ear. The blond artist straightened visibly and Sasori resisted the urge to laugh. He was so easy to tease. Sasori went back over to his desk before deciding against sitting down as of yet. "Let me show you your room," he said, walking over to the door. Deidara followed with cloak and ring in hand. Sasori led the blond down the hall to a door that was close to Sasori's except opposite the wall. It was also closer to the bathroom. It was tidy and up-kept. As if no one has ever been there. Deidara walked in and looked around. Black comforter with red clouds, black sheets, black and red pillow cases, desk to the right, window to the left. Dresser next to the desk. Night stand next to the bed. Pretty simple. Deidara took an instant liking to it. He looked back at Sasori and saw him looking into the room also. Apparently, he had never been in here before. "Try to get some sleep. Orientation is tomorrow."

Deidara nodded and looked at Sasori. "Sasori, un?" Sasori stopped again and looked at Deidara. "Thanks...for everything," he said, flashing a genuine smile his way.

Sasori's eyes widened a little. He saw Deidara smile. And it wasn't fake like all the other ones. It was true. Sasori noticed he was staring and suddenly turned around. "No n-need to thank me," he said gruffly as he left to his room.

Deidara smiled again and looked at the clothes in his hand. He sighed before putting the cloak on the back of the chair. There was an envelope with the cloak and Deidara raised an eyebrow. He opened it and saw a ring with the sign for "blue" like the chair before said. He read the note and sighed.

"_Deidara,_

_Wear this ring on your right index finger at all times. From now on, you will be wearing the Akatsuki cloak and ring at all times unless it is otherwise necessary. Further information will be given at the orientation I am sure Sasori told you about._

_Pein_

_Leader"_

Deidara sighed again and put the ring on his right index finger. He looked at it and smirked. He laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling until sleep finally overcame him. He drifted off into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of his captor and the mysterious red head that saved him so long ago.

* * *

Sasori sat at his desk in his room, staring blankly at the wall. He couldn't get the blond artist's smile out of his head. Sasori was somewhat certain of his sexuality. He was neither straight, nor gay. Nor was he bi. He had never really been with anyone, so it was not completely certain to him. He knew that Itachi and Kisame were together. And that Konan and Pein were together. And even heard rumors from shark boy and Uchiha that Kakuzu and Hidan were together. The red head was not certain, however, if he were gay like the others. And even if he were, they wouldn't care. After all, if they did, they'd be a bunch of hypocrites.

The point was, Sasori was rather confused for once that he did not understand what he was feeling. Why did he blush like an idiot around the blond? Why did he want to step up for the blond so easily and frequently, for that matter? Why did he feel like he had to always look after the blond? Why did he daydream about him? All these questions ate away at Sasori. These were questions he didn't know the answer to. These were questions he was scared to know the answer to.

He sat there in silence until he heard a scream from Deidara's room. He bolted out of his chair and ran to Deidara's room to see him struggling in his sleep. Another nightmare. Sasori sighed and walked over to Deidara cautiously. He sat next to the blond and rested his head in his lap, petting his hair softly. Eventually, the blond calmed down and cuddled closer to Sasori. Sasori looked out the window, wondering how he had gotten himself into this whole mess...

* * *

**TBC**


	3. Orientation

A/N: Chapter 3! Woot! I'm trying to draw out the whole relationship thing but it is getting harder and harder XD and yes. This is a SasoxDei fic. But there are also some suggested KisaxIta, KakxHid, and KonanxPein. Although, I will not be going into detail...the main pairing is SasoxDei. Nothing more, nothing less. Anyways. On with the story!!!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 3: Orientation_

* * *

Deidara had plenty of nightmares, but as soon as he started screaming, he felt somewhat at ease. He felt a warmth near him and snuggled closer to it through the night, not once waking. That is, until another terrifying, inconsolable nightmare washed over him. Even the warmth could not comfort him. It was useless. How often this same dream, or rather...memory, plagued him. It had bothered him almost routinely for the past three years.

_Deidara walked through the streets of Iwa. He was about to go see his favorite shop owner, but something knocked him unconscious in broad daylight. It was hours before he finally awoke. When he did finally regain consciousness, he found that he was not in a very pleasant place. This was not Iwa. This was not even anywhere the blond Iwa-nin knew. He couldn't have been more than fifteen. He opened his eyes to look around. The room he was in smelled of rotting flesh and musky, moldy smells. It sickened him. He tried to move, but found that he was chained to a bed. His eyes widened. He looked up at his hands. Bound with rope, blood trickling down his wrists to his forearms. When he tried to move, a sharpness held him in place. He looked down at his feet. Bound with rope, blood staining the sheets beneath him. When he tried to move, the same sharpness kept him still. He also noticed that his clothes were gone. He had scratches along his stomach and thighs. Each looked like cuts from either a blade of some sort, or fingernails. The latter was most likely. A voice disrupted his thoughts. "My, my, Dei-chan...didn't realize you looked so...mature," the voice cooed sickly._

"_Who are you!? What do you want?! Where am I?!" Deidara screamed with fear and obvious revulsion._

_The voice sounded in a twisted laugh. "Why, you're home, of course," the voice said, mocking concern and comfort. Deidara struggled against the bindings, only to have more blood stream down his arms. He winced at the pain. The voice laughed again. Apparently, he was being watched. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Dei-chan. You see...those binds have jagged sharp metal embedded in them. One wrong move, and you might hit a vital nerve, resulting in you bleeding yourself to death. Same with your feet," the voice explained._

_Deidara felt warmth run down his cheeks. "Why?...Why are you doing this?" he cried desperately, trying to get free with such a futile effort._

_The voice just laughed. "Why?" he repeated. Deidara was quiet. As was the voice. Until..."Because, dear, Dei-chan...you are the tiny mouse that is destined to fall prey to the hungry snake. And prey you will be...for the next incoming years," he said, walking closer to the boy, the figure now fully lit._

_Black hair hung loosely around the man. His pale skin gave him a vampiric look. His amber eyes looked threatening and dominating. He had purple facial markings by his eyes, resembling eyes of a snake. The man looked positively frightening to the fifteen year old. The man wore a ring on his left pinky finger. He had the most terrifying smile. It definitely looked like that of a snake. A shudder ran through Deidara's small frame. "W-Why me?" he cried._

_The man only laughed and walked closer. It was then that Deidara noticed that the man was devoid of any and all clothes. Deidara felt another shudder run through his body as the man crawled onto the bed. He straddled the young blond and looked down at him. "Because...you, Deidara, are the perfect candidate for my release," he said before nipping at his neck._

It was then that Deidara had always started to scream. How he remembered that night all too well. How he longed to forget that one memory. How he longed that that vile, despicable snake-nin was dead. Deidara had always made a vow to himself. He would not die until that man was dead. He would not die until he himself killed Orochimaru, the Sound ninja.

Deidara woke with a start and sat straight up, holding his head. He was panting and sweating profusely. That dream always made him do this. It was then that he noticed he was not alone in the room, or on the bed for that matter. He skittishly looked to his left and saw Sasori looking at him stoically as ever. "S-Sasori? W-What are you doing here, un?" he asked, trying to refrain from crying in front of his new partner.

Sasori answered with a sigh. "How could I not be here? You were screaming all night," he told the young Iwa-nin. Deidara's face dropped and he buried his face in his knees that were now brought securely to his chest. Sasori felt somewhat bad. Like he had to do something to put a smile on the blond's face. "Do you...want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.

Deidara flinched a bit. He hesitantly looked at Sasori and his blond hair, that was normally covering the left side of his face, had moved to reveal a big purple bruise on the blond's cheek. Sasori's eyes widened at this. Deidara laughed pathetically again. "This is what happens when you try to defy him, un," he said with a sad smile. Sasori's eyes fell. Deidara sighed and looked out the window, trying to rake his hair back over his eye. Sasori stopped him and Deidara kept his hand in his hair until Sasori pulled it away. Deidara looked at Sasori, his hair now completely away from his face, with the help of Sasori pushing it behind his ear. Deidara's eyes fell to the bed. He sighed sadly. "Orochimaru...I was...I was fifteen...but...it all started when I was thirteen, un." Sasori's attention spiked. He was now listening very intently. Deidara continued, his voice lowering. "He tried to capture me even then, un. But," he smiled. "But this one person...the only one that ever stuck up for me...he stepped in the way. He was the only one that ever looked out for me, un. I'll never forget him. He looked a little older than me. In fact," he said, looking at Sasori with a small smile. "He looked like you, un."

Sasori's eyes widened a little. "Like me? What do you mean, brat?" he asked, trying to hide his surprise with angry misunderstanding.

Deidara laughed a little. "Well, he had the same red hair, the same colored eyes...and he was a Suna ninja, yeah," he said thoughtfully. He looked at Sasori and saw his eyes widen exponentially. Deidara's eyes widened also. "Wait...Sasori...it wasn't you, un?" he asked, suddenly full of hope.

Sasori averted his glance to the side. He smirked a little and glanced at Deidara, his face still at the side. His head was lowered a little, so he had to look up at him. The look on his face was a cute one. "You're still a brat," he said quietly.

Deidara's eyes widened and glistened with tears. "Sasori-"

Sasori stood up and stretched a little. "Come on, brat. We better get going. Orientation is in a few minutes," he said, smirking back at Deidara. Deidara's eyes brightened and he nodded before leaping out of bed with such happiness, you couldn't even tell the last couple of years happened.

* * *

Deidara and Sasori walked into the main building and saw everyone waiting for them. Kisame made a stupid remark along the lines of "looks like the virgin finally got laid" and some burst out laughing, mainly Hidan. Sasori and Deidara just glared, along with Pein, who called him an idiot. Pein walked up to Deidara and Sasori. "Well, you two," he began. "As usual, you will have two weeks off to get to better know each other. But then, you will have a mission waiting for you. Is that clear?" he asked. Deidara nodded happily. Sasori nodded, not so energetically. He had to replenish his poison anyways. Pein nodded and continued. "Right then. Deidara, in case you haven't realized," Pein continued, "we have meetings once every week to keep in touch of each other. We don't always meet in person, however. Her use astral projection. Understand?" he asked. Deidara nodded. "Sasori will teach it to you sometime," he suggested. Sasori nodded. "Great. Now. On to introductions. I'm Pein, leader of the Akatsuki. My partner is Konan," he said, pointing to the woman with blue hair. She bowed to the blond. Deidara nodded in acknowledgment. Pein continued yet again with introductions. "I am sure you have already met Kisame and Itachi," he said, pointing to the other two. Deidara glared at Itachi. Kisame snickered and earned a slap from Itachi on his shoulder. He shut up. Deidara nodded at Pein, signaling him to continue. "Zetsu," he said, pointing to the venus fly trap of a man. "He always works alone. He's sufficient in spying. Part of ANBU after all..." he sighed. He continued again. "Hidan and Kakuzu are partners. Kakuzu is the one with the mask and...the foul-mouthed one is Hidan," he said with an annoyed tone. Hidan just smirked and flipped them off while Kakuzu didn't look up from counting his money. "Of course...Kakuzu is obsessed with money," he explained. Deidara rolled his eyes with a smirk. "That's all," Pein finished. "Any questions?" he asked, looking back at Deidara.

Deidara thought for a moment. "Er...not yet, un," he sighed. He was quiet for a moment. "Actually...there is..." Pein waited for him to spit it out. "Orochimaru...is he-"

"Orochimaru is no longer associated with us. He quit long ago," explained Konan, walking up to them. She looked at Deidara and saw relief wash over him. She and Pein exchanged confused glances before they looked back to Deidara. "Um...if I may ask, Deidara...why are you so worried about Orochimaru?" she asked quietly.

Deidara stiffened and put on another fake smile. "It's nothing of importance, un," he said, trying his best to hide the lie. He looked at them and noticed they didn't buy it, so he sighed heavily before crossing his arms. "Well...it's important...but I don't want to talk about it, un. Just know that I am going to kill him," he said, an evil glint in his eye. Konan flinched a little. Pein just stared. Sasori raised an eyebrow. Deidara had another mood swing. "Anyways! Thanks so much for showing me around, un!" he smiled. Forced again.

Sasori started to grow tired of this forcing. Pein and Konan didn't push it. Instead, they took off to go mingle with the others. This orientation turned out to be a party, more or less. With Pein and Konan out of the picture, Sasori tugged Deidara's arm to the kitchen. He followed and Deidara sat at the bar, Sasori standing next, or rather, in front of him. "Something serious happened between you and Orochimaru," he stated, expecting Deidara to explain.

Said blond lowered his head in defeat. "I already told you, un," he whispered. Sasori sighed and sat in front of him on the bar stool as well. He lifted Deidara's chin to look at him. Deidara stared sadly. He nodded and Sasori let go. "Orochimaru...beat me...and raped me...and did other seriously sick things, un," he explained, trying his best not to cry. Sasori noticed this and ghosted his hand over Deidara's left cheek where the bruise was. "That's his recent one, yeah," he said with another sigh. He rubbed his neck and a bruise started to show on his neck. He had used cover up to conceal it. Sasori saw it and frowned at it. "That's another, un," Deidara sighed. He looked away in shame.

Sasori sighed this time. "It's not your fault," he said quietly. Deidara was a bit startled at this. Sasori was comforting him. This had to be rare. He continued to speak. "Orochimaru...did the same to me when he was my partner," Sasori confessed.

Deidara's eyes widened. "You mean-"

"Hey, guys! Why'd ya leave?" Kisame asked coming into the kitchen. He saw the marks on Deidara's neck and whistled. "Geez, 'Sori. You really did a number on him, eh?" he said, leaning closer to Deidara's neck. Deidara's face turned gloomy. Kisame noticed that both were gloomy. He stopped joking. "This is Orochimaru's work...isn't it?" he asked seriously. They both nodded silently, not taking their eyes off one another. Kisame sighed and put a hand on both of their shoulders. "I'll talk with Pein and see what we can do. Is that alright?" he asked, keeping his normally obnoxious voice down. Both nodded and Kisame sighed. "You guys go back home. I'll tell Pein that you weren't feeling too well," he said. Sasori nodded and led Deidara out and home. Kisame stood there, shaking his head. _'Orochimaru...that sick bastard,'_ he thought.

"Kisame," came a dark voice from behind him. Kisame turned and saw Itachi. "Where are Sasori and Deidara?" he asked monotonously.

Kisame sighed and looked at Itachi. "Went home. Itachi...things with Orochimaru are getting out of hand. We need to put an end to it. Fast," Kisame explained.

Itachi nodded and glanced backward for a moment. He turned his sights back to Kisame. "We'll talk with Pein," he suggested. Kisame nodded and kissed Itachi on the forehead. Itachi acted as if it never happened and they left to the rest of the party, all the while, Kisame loving the almost nonexistent blush on Itachi's cheeks. When they made it back to the party, however, it was gone.

* * *

Sasori watched Deidara sit in the kitchen, staring at nothing in particular. He was still upset. Sasori sighed lightly. He walked over to Deidara and put his hand on the blond's shoulder. The blond didn't move. Nor did he blink. It seemed he was lost in his own thoughts. Sasori gave up and went over to the fridge, pulling out some water. He poured some in a glass and put it in front of Deidara. The blond looked lost. Oblivious to the world. Sasori pulled an Itachi and jabbed the blond's forehead. Deidara still didn't move. Sasori started to get frustrated. He turned Deidara to look at him. He looked blank. Devoid of all emotions. He waved his hand in front of his face and Deidara still didn't move, let alone blink. Sasori sighed and grinned. An evil thought. He pulled Deidara closer and pressed his lips against Deidara's in a feather light kiss. When he pulled away, he looked at Deidara. A light blush was on his cheeks. Sasori smirked and released him, patting his shoulder. Deidara blushed as he looked at Sasori. "What was that for, un?" he asked, touching his lips softly with his fingertips.

Sasori snickered and shrugged. He went over to the counter and leaned against it nonchalantly. He shrugged again. "You weren't responding," he said simply, monotonously.

Deidara blushed even more. "S-so you kiss me, un!?" Deidara all but shrieked with embarrassment. His face was redder than Sasori's hair. Sasori looked at him skeptically with a smirk of victory. "I-I see no amusement in this, yeah!" he said almost as loud.

Sasori snickered and walked back over to Deidara. Deidara got up out of his chair and backed away. Sasori followed until Deidara was pinned against the wall. Sasori walked up to him and brought his hand up to Deidara's face. Said blond flinched and Sasori looked into Deidara's eyes. He kept moving the hair from the young Iwa-nin's face until all of his face could be seen. They stared at each other for a while. Sasori tucked Deidara's hair behind his ear, exposing all of his face. He noticed the blond's cerulean orbs shimmering with upcoming tears. He stared for a reason why. He found no reason. As he looked on, he saw fear. "Deidara...what did I tell you the first time you came here?" he asked. Deidara slowly shook his head. Sasori smirked and leaned his forehead against said blond's. He looked into his blue eyes and continued to gently hold his face in his hands. "I told you I would not hurt you," he whispered.

Deidara's tears fell silently as he listened to Sasori's soft words. He closed his eyes and the last bits of tears fell down his cheeks. Sasori noticed a change in the blond's expression. He was no longer crying out of fear or sadness. He was crying out of happiness. As the blond opened his eyes, he stared into Sasori's eyes longingly. Sasori was taken aback a little at this. Deidara brought his hand up to cup the red head's cheek. He smiled sincerely at Sasori and hugged him. "Thank you, Sasori-chan," he whispered before pulling away. Sasori smirked and nodded. He started to walk away and Deidara smiled at his back. A small blush appeared on his cheeks as he watched him walk away. He touched his lips gingerly and looked off in a daze. _'I should space out more often, un,'_ he thought happily. Once Sasori was out of sight, Deidara made his way to his room. He plopped onto his bed and laid down, stripping from his Akatsuki cloak and tossing it on the chair not too far from his bed. He replayed Sasori's words in his head before shutting his eyes and trying to sleep. He had a feeling tonight would be a good night to sleep peacefully. With that, sleep overcame him and he was knocked out for the night.

* * *

Sasori leaned against his door inside his room, staring at the ground. _'Did I really do that?'_ he asked himself over and over again. Sasori smirked and resumed his work at his table. It was a good thing they had two weeks off to get acquainted. Sasori would no doubt enjoy these next two weeks. With that, he went to work with his poison. If he was lucky, Deidara would wake up screaming again. He smirked at his eagerness to see the blond. He shook his head with a smirk. "A brat is still a brat," he smirked, finishing one of his most potent poisons. He slipped it into Hiruko and sighed before removing his Akatsuki cloak, leaving him bare-chested with his Suna-like pants. He let his hands rest behind his head in relaxation. He sighed silently. The last thing on his conscious thoughts was a certain blond Akatsuki member.

* * *

**TBC**


	4. Bonding and Boundaries

A/N: Chapter 4 already...sheesh...and all these were written on the same day XD go figure. Anyways...Sasori is still a puppet. But I made him have a more human like body. So, instead of the way everyone else has seen him, the whole "3 holes in the torso" thing...he has a completely normal looking body. Given, he still has some parts that are puppet. It's just...it isn't his battle puppet style. It's his...relaxing, kick back puppet body. That is what he is currently in. And he won't be in his normal, as seen, "on-screen" puppet body until they are ready for a mission. Oh! And also! Thank you so much to those who left reviews. Especially, ShiranuiKai! Thanks for the awesome reviews!! Thanks to others who support Saso/Dei! Anyways...on with the story. Just wanted to enlighten you guys

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 4: Bonding and Boundaries_

* * *

Deidara slept peacefully last night. He was not sure as to why, but he did. Whether it be Sasori's "wake-up method" or other, he didn't care. It was rather nice to sleep so peacefully. In fact, he felt more refreshed than he had in a while. He hopped out of bed and bounced happily. He brushed his hair happily and put part of it up in his trademark pony tail. He looked in the bathroom mirror and sighed before lifting up the bangs on the left side of his face. The bruise was almost gone. He looked at his neck and saw that it too was almost gone. He smiled sadly and looked down at his arms. There were so many whitened areas in shapes of slash marks from where he had cut himself. Now that he looked at them, they looked ugly and served as a reminder of how much he really wanted to end his life before. It also served as a reminder of how badly he hated his life. Whether that would change with being Sasori's partner or not, it was not clear as of yet. All he knew was that things were starting to look up. Much to his liking.

Sasori, the red headed Sand-nin, a master of puppets, was the one that stood up for him all those years ago. He had been the only one to ever stick up for him, no matter what the circumstances. And now, he had found him and they were friends. Deidara smiled genuinely in happiness at this. And just last night, he kissed him. Deidara unconsciously touched his lips again and remembered what it felt like. He blushed and shook his head. _'He wouldn't want me, un. And besides...he's not gay, un!'_ he thought, angry with himself for even thinking such things of his _"straight"_ partner. With that last though, he bounced from the bathroom, less energetic at the thought, and went to the kitchen. He saw Sasori sitting at the bar, staring at the steaming tea he had prepared for himself. Deidara stared curiously. He walked past him quietly, careful not to disturb any thoughts the Akasuna might be having. He made himself a cup of tea and sipped it silently, walking over to the living room window and peering out in a daze.

Sasori, who had concluded his thoughts of the previous night, looked up just in time to see Deidara looking out the window, the sunlight shining on his pale skin, giving it a faint glow. He stared on with a smirk. He broke his sight from his blond partner and started to sip his tea contently. "Deidara," he said before sipping his tea gain. The blond nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly caught the almost falling tea and looked at Sasori, clearly flustered. Sasori quirked a brow at his overly jumpy partner and shook it off. "What is your view on art?" he asked flatly, sipping at his tea quietly, his eyes shut.

Deidara was a little startled and thought for a moment. He walked over to Sasori and sat across from him. He sat his tea on the counter top and crossed his arms, putting his right up to his chin, holding it. He closed his eyes in thought to think about it. Sasori glanced at his partner and saw the cutest thinking face on him. He resisted the urge to laugh, due to the fact it came out as a girlish giggle. He sipped at his tea, praying he would have enough self-restraint not to start laughing and choking on his tea. Deidara finally answered, picking up his tea in his hands and watching the ripples in the liquid. "Art is something that lasts for a split moment. Like explosions, un. If you do not capture it in that one moment, then it is not art," he said with a smile, sipping his tea.

Sasori nearly gawked at this. He set his tea down and cleared his throat. "I must disagree." Deidara waited for him to continue. "Art is everlasting. Your little fireworks are not art. It's just entertainment. If you don't capture something that is eternal, then it is pointless," he explained.

Deidara started to chuckle. "But if it is unchanging, and eternal, then you will get tired of it, yeah," he said, looking at Sasori with his innocent blue eyes, smiling widely.

Sasori's eye twitched. "No you won't. If it is unchanging and eternal, you can admire it forever," he reasoned, trying to keep his composure. He failed miserably with Deidara's next statement.

Deidara laughed and looked at his tea again. "What do you know, un?" he challenged. "Art is the thrill of the moment. Art is a bang, yeah!" he smiled childishly. Sasori resisted the urge to get out of the chair and whack his blond partner over the head. Deidara continued on. "Something that is eternal is just boring," he smirked.

Sasori stood abruptly, causing Deidara to flinch and jump a little. He looked at fuming Sasori. Sasori looked at said blond stoically. "Such a brat," he said, walking off. A slam was heard, assuming it was Sasori's bedroom door. Deidara sat silently, sad all of a sudden.

* * *

Sasori sat on his bed, angered and hurt at the same time by what Deidara said. _"Something that is eternal is just boring."_ Sasori sighed lightly as he sat on his bed and looked at all his puppets and puppet parts. "Does...that mean I'm boring?" he asked himself, flexing his hand. He sighed again and looked at the other puppets strewn across the floor. His room was an absolute mess. Deidara's was much cleaner than his. The blond, he swore, had OCD or something along those lines. He was obsessed with cleaning. Everything was tidy. He had already cleaned almost everything Sasori had destroyed. The only thing left was Sasori's room, which he was not allowed in. Sasori didn't want the blond to think him a freak and run off. He was fine keeping this secret from the blond. It was for both of their safety.

"_But if it is unchanging, and eternal, then you will get tired of it, yeah."_ Sasori felt somewhat hurt by these words. Was Deidara trying to say something? That things that lasted forever weren't beautiful? Had Sasori made a grave mistake? Would Deidara think the same thing if he saw-

A knock came at the door. Sasori knew who it was. He dragged himself up off the bed and went over to it. He hesitantly and angrily, yet hurtfully, swung it open. Deidara stood there, head lowered. He looked up at Sasori just as Sasori was about to say something. "Danna? Are you angry, un?" he asked quietly.

Sasori's eyes widened a little. "Danna?" he asked. "What's with the name, Deidara?" he asked, suddenly forgetting all his anger and hurt.

Deidara smiled sheepishly. "You're older and wiser than me. And...I thought about what you said, un...I made a mistake, yeah," he said, looking off to the side. "Art...can be both, yeah?" he asked, glancing at Sasori.

Sasori was truly bewildered. "Er..." He didn't know exactly what to say at this point. He just nodded, fearful that his words might betray him. "Is-"

"Sasori-danna, un?" he asked, accidentally breaking him off. Sasori looked at Deidara incredulously. "We should do something today, un!" he smiled. Sasori tilted his head. Deidara smiled at his cuteness. "We should learn about the other's kekkei genkai, yeah," he smiled again. Sasori's face dropped at this. What would Deidara think of him after he knew? Like he normally did when he was uncomfortable, he turned to anger. Deidara didn't fail to notice this. "Danna is uncomfortable, un..." the blond said, sort of questioning. Sasori sighed lightly and shook his head. "So...are we going to do it, un?" he asked hyperly. Sasori smirked and nodded. Said hyperactive blond smiled and hugged Sasori suddenly. The red head fell backward onto his butt, dragging Deidara with him.

To say they landed in an awkward position would be an understatement. Deidara's back was arched as he laid, or rather sat, on top of a shirtless Sasori. Sasori's knee was bent, sitting up straight, his hand behind him, holding up his body. A hand was on Deidara's ass and Deidara had both his hands on Sasori's shoulders. Their faces were inches from each other's and Deidara was straddling Sasori shamelessly. They both wore blushes as they stared at each other. Sasori noticed Deidara's breathing had increased and he smirked, moving the hand that was on his ass, up to said blond's hair. He pulled the blond closer so his lips were by the Iwa-nin's ear. He kissed the junction of his neck softly, earning a shudder, and smirked. "Who said you get to be seme?" Sasori whispered, teasing, of course.

Deidara's breathing increased more, as did his blush. His eyes widened. "S-Sasori-d-danna...u-un," he questioned, clearly flustered. Sasori pulled away to look at the flustered blond. What he saw was a very, very red blond. He resembled a strawberry. Sasori couldn't help but burst into laughter. A seldom heard laughter. Deidara blushed even more, if that was even humanly possible, as he looked at Sasori's happy, laughing face. He smiled at first, then grinned evilly, wishing to get Sasori back. Thinking fast, Deidara brought their lips together once again, shoving his tongue in the red head's mouth. Sasori stopped laughing upon contact. In fact, his breathing stopped too. Deidara smirked and playfully tapped Sasori's tongue with his. Sasori's face turned redder than Deidara's. He soon gave in and kissed back, however, much to Deidara's surprise. Soon, there was a battle for dominance, which Sasori won. After a few minutes, they broke, seeing as how Deidara needed air. Sasori smirked again at Deidara's flustered face. "Wasn't expecting it to...go that far, un," Deidara said shyly.

Sasori just smirked and snickered, ruffling Deidara's hair. "Oh, well, brat," he teased, leaning back on his hands, waiting for Deidara to get up. He wasn't budging. Either he was too shocked to move. Or he didn't want to get off. Sasori hoped it was the earlier of the two. Seeing that Deidara made no effort to move, Sasori decided to push things. "What was that about kekkei genkai?" he asked, looking at Deidara curiously.

Deidara blushed and laughed sort of ditz-like. "Oh. Uh..." he paused. "I can't remember, un!" he smiled, a blush appearing again. Sasori sighed. Things weren't supposed to go that way. He was about to give into his hormonal urges before Deidara spoke again. "Oh! I said why don't we show each other our kekkei genkai, un! That way, we can be familiar with each other's abilities, yeah," Deidara smiled.

Sasori cursed his luck. Why couldn't he continue to be the ditsy blond as before? Then, maybe their already stretched and unstable relationship, would take a turn for permanent partners. But, no. Deidara had to remember right at the last minute. "That would be possible, brat...if you were not still straddling me," Sasori said bluntly. Deidara gave Sasori an unpleased face and got up. He offered his hand to the Akasuna and Sasori took it. The blond helped him up and they parted immediately when Sasori had his balance. He stared at Deidara expectantly.

Deidara smiled and grabbed Sasori's hand, leading him out of the house. He started to walk to a nearby field, similar to the one him and Itachi fought at, but closer and more populated. Deidara stopped at the nearby lake and looked out over it. It neared night time. Perfect timing. The crowds were starting to go away, leaving the two Akatsuki members by themselves. The blond turned to his partner. "Sasori-danna, un?" he asked. Sasori just stared, waiting for the blond to continue. "What's your kekkei genkai?" he smiled.

Sasori blanched. He hadn't expected to tell his partner this early. He remained silent. The blond just seated himself on the grass before his red headed partner. Sasori stood silently. Though he was not embarrassed of what he had become, he was rather skittish to show anyone. What if Deidara thought him a freak? Given, the other Akatsuki members knew of his secret. But what of Deidara? Would he shun the red head as the others had? Now, by no means was he ashamed to reveal such artwork to his fellow artist. But it was that one comment he made earlier. _"But if it is unchanging, and eternal, then you will get tired of it, yeah."_ Sasori remained quiet and motionless. He had no intention of showing Deidara. Instead, he looked off out over the water, trying to avoid it in all its necessity.

Deidara saw this. He stood up and raised an eyebrow at his Danna. "Sasori-danna?" he asked. Sasori didn't move. He waved his hand in front of Sasori's face, earning a glare and a half from the Suna-born. Deidara sort of flinched at this. He kept his smile as he talked to his partner. He released a heavy sigh. "Would...it help if I showed you mine first, un?" he asked, trying to push back the uneasiness that thought brought up.

Sasori remained quiet and he averted his glance angrily. "I don't want to reveal it in public," he said simply. He started to walk off, leaving Deidara by himself. He stopped a while away from Deidara and looked over his shoulder. "Come on, brat," he said sternly, walking off. Deidara got up and followed Sasori back to the house hesitantly. All the while, Sasori was lost in thought. Why should it matter? He never asked for acceptance. He never would. So, why did he care what the blond thought about him? He in no way had _feelings_ for this nut-job. He couldn't even defeat Itachi! So why did he feel so controlling? Why did he feel so protective? Why did he feel that it was his duty to look out for and shelter the blond? None of this made sense to him. It irked him. His patience was wearing rather thin at the moment. He didn't, nor did he want to, understand these feelings. Feelings were insignificant. He abandoned all those useless things once he performed the ultimate sin. He was no longer human. He was not puppet. He was a mixture of the two. An abomination. A reject. But then again, all of those in Akatsuki were rejects and terrorists. A deadly combination.

They made it to the house and Sasori walked in angrily. Deidara had, surprisingly, remained quiet throughout the whole trip back. Sasori guessed it to be uneasiness. He didn't really care. Then, memories came back as to how he acted earlier with the blond. Blushing like some kind of incoherent, ignorant, hormone-controlled girl. Sexually teasing the blond with his words. Kissing him. Touching him. Sasori shook his head angrily at this. This angered him. Why did he do all those things? His behavior was unacceptable. And now, his partner thought he cared for him. Sasori had gotten himself in deep. He simply had to set the blond straight. There was no other choice. He had to sit him down and tell him that it meant nothing. That he saved him so long ago because he felt he had to. That he was simply sticking up for him on impulse. That it meant nothing.

Sasori stopped outside his door. He froze. His eyes wide. His mouth slightly agape. Wasn't that true? Didn't he not care for the blond Iwa-nin? Wasn't it true? That he could care less about the idiot blond that was way too hyperactive and too feminine for his own good? Sasori felt his whole world start to fall apart. Was he simply lying to himself to spite his heart? Was he lying to himself because he thought it wrong to think these things about a certain blond? Or was he actually feeling these things? Sasori shook his head and growled lowly. He looked to his side and saw the blond eying him suspiciously. Sasori glared at him then went in his room, the door wide open for Deidara to follow. Deidara suddenly felt a little uneasy. Something was wrong with Sasori. His whole mood had changed. Nonetheless, he followed.

When Deidara entered, he saw Sasori sitting at his desk in a rather foul mood. Deidara looked at him, frozen in place by the glare the red head was giving him. Their eyes locked for a minute, then Deidara dropped his sight. "Sit," Sasori commanded sharply. Deidara did. He sat on the bed, pulling his legs up, resting his head on his knees, looking at Sasori with much concern. Sasori rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He stopped abruptly when he felt Deidara's gaze on him. He sent a glare in his direction and saw the blond look away sadly. "What is our relationship?" he asked, still a bit irritated.

Deidara didn't know how to take that question. He thought about it for a moment while staring at Sasori curiously. Where was he going with this? Is it something Deidara should be careful with his word choice with? Was it simply a question? A harmless question? Deidara searched Sasori's expression and saw the normal impatience mixed with anger. Deidara's mood changed as well. He left behind the happiness. It was going to be another Orochimaru, minus the sexual attacks. Or was that to come in time, too? Deidara buried his head in his knees. "Partners, un," he said sadly. Quieter than normal.

Sasori glared on. "What did the kiss and other things mean to you?" he asked again.

Deidara felt as if he were being interrogated. He sighed again before slumping his shoulders. He got the hint. "Nothing...un," he lied. He was certain Sasori was asking this to establish a boundary. One that would not ever be crossed again. "It meant nothing, un," he said a bit more louder, unsure of whether Sasori heard him before.

Sasori felt something snap in him. Something that sent him in a mood of sadness. Why did it hurt so bad to hear those words? Why did it hurt so bad to see Deidara sitting like that? So unhappy? So not like him? He wanted to hear this, didn't he? Sasori felt guilt wash over him. He hid it well though. Not wanting to give in. This had to be done. He couldn't endanger their partnership and having to work together if they did suddenly start dating and then break up. If that happened, the whole relationship would be ruined. No more working together. No more being able to focus on their missions. More arguing. This wasn't, in any way, favorable to Sasori, nor would it be favorable to Deidara. He sighed inwardly at what he was about to say. "Exactly. Meaning, it will not happen again. We are partners. Nothing more, nothing less. We are co-workers. Fellow artists. If we let that little meaningless, pointless session, or sessions, shall I say, get in the way of our work, we will be useless to leader. And I am in no way favoring being useless. Understood?" he said sternly. A whimper was heard sometime during his rant and when Sasori was done, Deidara nodded quietly. Sasori mentally kicked himself for saying all of that. He still stood strong though, despite every feeling he was having. Every urge he was having to pull the blond close and tell him to forget about what he had just said. Every urge to go against every fiber of his being. Every urge to utter those three meaningful words. He had to be the stronger of the two. No more joking. They had to be serious. "Good. Now, get out," he said harshly. His voice showed some signs of quivering.

Deidara paid no attention to this and let his knees down. "Yes, Danna, un," he said quietly, drained of all his happiness and joy. He sluggishly, yet quickly, left Sasori's room and went to his own, leaving Sasori there by himself.

Once the blond was gone, Sasori started to rub his temples. If he were human, he, no doubt, would have a headache right about now. Force of habit. He sighed heavily before looking at his puppet bodies in the open closet. He sighed again and a look of hatred came over his face. Normally, he'd be content looking upon them. Now, however, he felt nothing but loathing for them. He sacrificed his whole being to become a piece of work. His sense of feeling being lost day by day. That damn forbidden jutsu. He cursed his immature decision. Normally, he would think this to be the best decision of his life. No pain, no trouble. Always being able to improve himself. But now, he wasn't so sure anymore. Though his human appearance was gone, he still had the human emotions. And right now, they were kicking his ass. Royally. He didn't know what to do. He had to be firm with his partner. He had to keep his straight face. He could not give in to such pointless emotions. But as he looked at the feeble blond in front of him, he realized that he had done more harm than good. He had been no better than Orochimaru. He had hurt the blond mentally. His ego was gone. His happiness was gone. His joy was stripped of him. The blond no doubt cared for Sasori. And Sasori cared for him as well. But there had to be boundaries. Boundaries that were not supposed to be crossed. Boundaries that were not supposed to exist.

* * *

Deidara sat in his room, curled up on his bed, his head buried in his knees. Tears were streaming silently down his cheeks. Why did his partner all of a sudden reject him? Had he done something to anger him? Deidara thought back to their previous conversations. None of them involved anything that might had angered his partner. The blond artist then felt regret and self-loathing wash over him. If he would have just defeated Itachi, then he wouldn't be in this mess. If he were simply to blow the bastard up, he wouldn't have to go through the rejection and pain he felt now. If he had only not run away from Orochimaru, he would have never seen Sasori again. This thought saddened him. Sasori had been the only one to ever stick up for him. With that in mind, Deidara had made it through the long, cold, harsh years. He wouldn't give up living when he knew that Sasori and him were meant to meet again. He had to find his childhood savior. But now that he had found him, he realized all was not as it seems.

Deidara sank into the bed and plopped on his side, still curled up in a fetal position. He looked about as pathetic as when he met Sasori a few days ago. Now he was reverting back to the way he was. Deidara wiped the tears away and went into the bathroom. He saw a razor blade and went back into his room. He shut the door and studied the object for a moment. He twirled it around his fingers and held out his right arm. He saw previous cut marks and looked back to the blade as if contemplating. He smirked sadly and then took to slashing away at his pale skin. Red tainted his milky white skin, running in a stream down to his elbow. The blond watched it carefully. If he was lucky, he would cut too deep. Then all this suffering he had to endure would be over.

Fate would not have it that way, however. Just as Deidara was about to deliver the last fatal blow to his sensitive skin, a knock came at the door. More like a bang. He jumped a little and lifted his eyes to the door. He had forgotten to lock the door. It didn't matter now. He lowered his eyes once again to his arm and placed the blade on his arm again, ready to slash again.

The door burst open and an angry, impatient, rather flustered, Sasori stood there, glaring at him. Deidara didn't bother to lift his head. He just proceeded to slash away at his arm, lower than a vital point that he intended to do just a minute ago. He watched the blood flow slowly down his arm with a sick smile on his face. Sasori watched the blond and his eyes grew large. After he got over the initial shock, however, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He stomped over to the blond and took ahold of his wrist roughly. He lifted it to inspect it, the blond keeping his head down, too depressed to look his partner in the eye. Sasori grew angry as he saw the tiny marks and slashes on his skin. He also didn't fail to notice the scars from previous treatments. He glared down at Deidara. "What the hell, brat?!" he growled, his grip tightening on the blond's arm. Deidara whimpered a little in pain. His head was still down, unable to look at Sasori. Sasori noticed this and grabbed his chin roughly, forcing him to look at him. Deidara had a distant look in his eyes when Sasori finally did see his cerulean orbs. His glare softened a little to that of concern. He tried to regain his calm voice. "I overestimated you. I thought you had enough common sense to not kill yourself. It appears that I am wrong," Sasori bit out, glaring at him, then turning back to the slashed arm. He snatched the razor blade from the blond's hand and threw it across the room. He turned back to the bleeding blond. His eyes were narrowed angrily. "Do I have to keep an eye on you every hour of the day, brat?!" he snarled viciously.

Deidara laughed pitifully. "It doesn't matter, yeah," he said lowly. He was truly disgusted with himself. "I misunderstood you, Danna. I thought you a friend. I was wrong, yeah," he said quietly, his eyes glancing away from Sasori's angry ones. The blond's eyes held depression, self-loathing, and another emotion that Sasori thought to be sadness and disappointment.

Sasori sighed heavily. He sat next to Deidara on the bed, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose again in habit. "What do you mean, brat?" he asked, trying to remain calm. He had let go of Deidara. Now, the blond sat very still, blood dripping onto his pants and the floor. The blond made no sign of answering. "We are partners. Is that not enough?" he asked, looking at him. Deidara's eyes had the same distant look as he watched his blood drip onto the floor. Sasori sighed and grabbed ahold of his hand, helping him to his feet. Deidara looked at Sasori then. He saw a sad smile on his face. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up," he said, lightly pulling Deidara to the bathroom.

* * *

**TBC**


	5. Confessions

A/N: Yeah...Dei-kun's emo XD Gotta love an emo blond guy! Things start to get serious with Deidara and Sasori. It seems the puppet has something to confess. It also seems that Deidara has a confession of his own. Check it out.

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 5: Confessions_

* * *

Deidara sat on the edge of the bathtub, watching Sasori clean his wounds. He had inflicted five cuts along his arm minutes before. Sasori kept quiet. Deidara made no move to say anything as well. Instead, he settled for his danna cleaning and tending to his wounds. It was fine. But a question was nagging at him. _Why?_ Why was he doing this when he told him that boundaries are not meant to be crossed? Why did he care now when he said he didn't before? And why did he look so concerned and sad as he was doing it? It all confused the blond artist. Nonetheless, though, he stayed quiet. If Sasori was willing to speak to him, he'd start the conversation. Although, it seemed the red head was in no mood for words.

Sasori continued to pour antiseptic on the fresh wounds, hearing a fizzing noise. He watched the substance bubble into a white foam before dabbing it away gently. After it was done cleaning it, Sasori wrapped it up in bandages. He held Deidara's arm in his hand very gent, careful as to not harm the blond further. Also because of the mere fact, he was trying to show him that he had not meant what he had said. When Sasori was done wrapping the wounds, he held Deidara's arm in his hand a little longer. Said blond tried to pull away, but Sasori's grip had tightened on his arm, keeping him in place. Sasori was currently knelt in front of the blond, looking at nothing in particular. He was thinking again.

Deidara looked down at his danna and watched him carefully. "Sasori-danna, un?" he asked quietly. Sasori raised his head to look into the blond's eyes. Deidara sadly averted his glance to the side. He couldn't hold his gaze. Not when he had been so mad at him before. "N-nothing, un," he responded quietly. Sasori sighed lightly and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Deidara's knee. The blond looked at his danna oddly. His face still held no emotions. You could say it was so devoid of emotions, it looked like a blond Itachi. The blond hesitantly brought his hand up to his danna's hair, burying his fingers in it, stroking his red hair softly.

Sasori didn't seem to care. He just released another sigh and sat there, eyes closed, enjoying the sensation. The silence did not last for long. "Why?" he asked monotonously. Deidara's hand paused in his hair. Sasori assumed it was confusion. "Why did you harm yourself?" he clarified. "Do you not want to live anymore? Is what I said really that awful?" he asked, not bothering to lift his head.

A small laughter was heard from Deidara. He continued to run his fingers through Sasori's hair as he answered his questions. "Danna...I haven't wanted to live for a long time, un. Orochimaru messed me up bad, yeah. Ever since you stuck up for me so long ago, I only lived because I wanted to find you, un. That's the only reason I lived my hellish life," he explained. Sasori lifted his head a little, Deidara's hand still buried in his hair. Brown eyes met blue with confusion. Deidara forced a smile. Sasori was tired of seeing those fake smiles. The kind that showed he was trying to hide his pain. He failed miserably. Deidara's shoulders slumped as he let his hand rest in Sasori's hair. "I pushed on in hopes of finding you again, un. No one's ever stuck up for me before like you did and I was truly thankful, yeah. I just wanted to find you to thank you," he said, looking back at Sasori. Sasori's eyes held no emotions. Neither did his face. He just looked up at Deidara, listening to his emotions and explanations.

Sasori noticed Deidara didn't want to continue so he spoke. He wanted answers. "What I said earlier," he began in a dark voice. "About the boundaries. I said that to convince myself of my feelings." Deidara quirked a brow at this. He listened on in silence, playing with Sasori's hair softly. Sasori's eyes fell to the side. "I didn't expect you..." he said, not being able to say it. "Does being my friend mean that much to you?" he asked, looking at Deidara. He saw a small nod and his sight diverting away from his own. Sasori sighed and grabbed ahold of his hand. He looked down at it and traced his finger along Deidara's knuckles softly. "Then...we'll be friends," he said, with difficulty on the word "friends." He never had any friends. The only people that were in his life were his mother, father, and Grandma Chiyo. Otherwise, he was alone. He had no friends as a child. Even then, his mother and father died. All he had left was Chiyo. And even then, he had to kill her. They were on opposite sides. Him, a member of the infamous, dangerous Akatsuki. Her, Suna's elder. It was not meant to be. He dreaded the day when he had to face his grandmother. He turned his attention back to Deidara, just in time to be glomped to the ground in a tight hug from the blond. His eyes were wide, but then he wrapped his arms around the blond gently.

* * *

Days went on and Sasori and Deidara started to get closer and closer. It had been three days since the cutting incident. Deidara healed quickly and every day, Sasori checked him for new wounds. He, of course, found none. Sasori cursed his soft spot for the troubled blond, but accepted it anyways. Today was the day that they were to show each other their kekkei genkai. Deidara was looking forward to learning more about his danna. Sasori, however, was not so thrilled. He had kept it a secret for so long. Only the members of Akatsuki knew. And even then, they didn't care. They just accepted him for his skills and such. But for some reason, Sasori cared immensely what Deidara thought of him. He couldn't shake the feeling of pushing Deidara away because of his hideousness.

Sasori sat on his bed, eying his puppets before him. He would have to show Deidara no matter what. Otherwise, they couldn't work together as well as he wanted them to. Deidara had told him the day before that he'd come by after he picked up some more clay. For what, Sasori didn't know. Probably to restock for his art, he supposed. But then again, the blond was unpredictable. Sasori sat nervously on his bed. Who would have thought that the Akasuna would be nervous? He had nerves of steel. Yet a certain partner of his was able to stir up more than just liking in him. True, he liked Deidara. He liked him and valued him as an equal. A fellow artist. An artist with very good skills. And Deidara returned the respect. Given, Deidara's form of art was not everything Sasori had particularly liked, but it was still art. And he had come to terms with it.

Deidara had forced smiles onto Sasori's lips after years of scowling and hatred. And for some reason, he couldn't stop smiling as long as he had the blond near him. It was contagious. And he didn't mind it in the least. Sasori rested his hands behind him and lolled his head back, staring at the ceiling with a smile gracing his features. Even thinking of the Iwa-nin caused him to smile. Sasori snickered a little. "What is he doing to me?" he asked quietly.

"What's who doing to you, danna, un?" a familiar and welcomed voice came from the door. Sasori looked up suddenly and regained his stoic expression despite the shock of not sensing the blond enter, nor hearing him. He just shook his head and stood with a sigh. "I'm back, un," he smiled.

"I see that, brat," he ground out. Inwardly, he was smiling. How he always stated the obvious. It was rather cute. Sasori stopped that line of thinking right there. No he did not call a man "cute." He looked over at said brat. "Are you done for a while?" he inquired.

Deidara smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah," he smiled. Deidara walked in all the way and shut Sasori's door. He walked over to his danna and looked at him, eye to eye. "Ready to show me your kekkei genkai, un?" he smiled excitedly.

Sasori let out a sigh. He dreaded even doing this. Despite these feelings of discomfort, he nodded and Deidara let out a chuckle before taking his place on Sasori's bed. He crossed his legs and waited with visible hyperactivity. Sasori looked at him for a second. He shook his head at his partner and sighed again. _'Always so hyper about the littlest things...'_ he mused to himself. Nonetheless, he stepped back a little so he was about two feet away from Deidara. He looked at his partner again and Deidara noticed a sadness in his eyes.

Sasori started to undo his Akatsuki cloak and Deidara blushed. Once all of it was undone, Deidara saw him start to remove it. "S-Sasori-d-danna, un! Stop stripping!" he said, clearly flustered.

Sasori sighed as Deidara covered his eyes. This was rather frustrating. He knew what was going through the Iwa-born's mind. He didn't like it, but he didn't push it away either. "Look, brat," he ground out, trying to keep calm. Deidara reluctantly took his hand away in time to see Sasori remove his cloak completely. Sasori had his regular puppet body on. The one with the three compartments on his chest. He had worn this one on purpose. If Deidara hadn't accepted this one, then he sure as hell wouldn't want anything further to do with him after the fact. Sasori watched Deidara's facial expression fall. A look of confusion replaced his once hyper one. Sasori sighed again. He would have to go further. He really didn't want to. Metal shot out of Sasori's back, resembling blade wings. The stomach compartment popped open, revealing poison coated wire. On his left breast was the most important part of his body: his heart. Sasori saw Deidara's facial expressions change once again. It went from confusion, to understanding, then to something Sasori was used to: revulsion, disgust, and fear. Sasori growled and shut himself up again, hiding the wings, hiding the heart, hiding the wire. He started to put the Akatsuki cloak back on with much hurt. "You wanted to see," he ground out with a growl.

Deidara grabbed his wrist as he was starting to get dressed again. Sasori stopped, dead in his tracks and looked down at Deidara. He studied his face to see the blond looking over his body. He shook his head and Sasori stared in bewilderment. He didn't understand what was going through his partner's head. The look of disgust was all he needed to know that he was not fond of Sasori and would treat him like all the others that knew his secret. Like a monster. Deidara raised a hand to Sasori's chest and ran it over his chest gingerly. Sasori watched him, aware of what he was doing. As he studied Deidara's face again, he saw the blond smile. This confused him. Why was he smiling? Was it that ugly? Was it out of pity? Sasori couldn't take it anymore. "What's so amusing, brat? Admit it. You find me disgusting. Hideous. A monster," he ground out. Deidara remained quiet and smiled up at Sasori sadly. "I don't need your pity!" he continued.

"Stop it, un," he whispered. Sasori looked at him and closed his mouth. He just glared at him. Deidara returned his vision to Sasori's chest and observed for a little longer before speaking again. "It's not hideous, un. This is your art, yeah?" he asked as he looked up at Sasori. He still held the same glare. Deidara smiled genuinely at Sasori. "Sasori-danna is the best form of art, yeah!" he smiled brightly. Sasori's brain stopped functioning for a minute. He replayed those words in his head. He still couldn't quite grasp what his partner had just said. He liked it? He said it was art? Deidara smiled at Sasori as he ran his hands over the puppet chest. He smiled again and rested his head against the red head's collarbone. Sasori's breathing increased a little. Why was he acting like this? Did he not repulse him? Was he not the monster everyone claimed him to be? Was he truly art in Deidara's eyes?

Sasori wrapped his arms around Deidara and pulled him closer. In this body, he could not feel. It was mostly puppet. The other one, his relaxing one, was mostly human. That one could feel. How he wished he was in that one right now. It could not be helped. He just held Deidara close to him, happy that he was not scared of him. Happy he wasn't pitying him. Happy that he was still here...with him.

Deidara pulled away and Sasori let him. He smiled sadly at Sasori again before removing his gloves slowly. He sighed heavily as he sat back on the bed. Sasori watched him as he looked at his palm. The blond glanced at him and then back to his hand. "Don't freak out, un," he warned.

Sasori almost snorted at this. He was telling him not to freak out after Deidara had seen his puppet body? He was a strange one alright. "Brat...why would I freak out? Look at me," he said, exhibiting himself as if he were meant to be in a museum and not in front of his blond friend.

Deidara chuckled nervously. "Right...sorry, un," he said. He sighed again before letting his palms face Sasori. Sasori's eyes widened a little at the two hand mouths facing him. They were both wearing a grin and Sasori's eye twitched as he refrained from laughing. Deidara glanced at him and quickly hid his hands. "T-told you, un," he said quietly.

Sasori smirked and went over to him, kneeling in front of him while Deidara was still on the bed. He took ahold of Deidara's right wrist and turned the palm upward to the ceiling. He looked at the hand and Deidara willed them to shut. Sasori looked up at him and smirked before bringing the hand mouth to his own and pecking it softly. His eyes were on Deidara the whole time. He watched with amusement as the blond blushed. "I didn't _freak out_, as you put it," he said monotonously. He smirked and stood up, releasing Deidara's wrist. He noticed the blond looking at his hand and saw the hand mouth smiling. His blush only increased. Deidara looked back to Sasori for an explanation. "They could be useful," he said as if it were nothing. He glanced to the side to look at Deidara. He was now fully blushing. Sasori smirked and laughed. Deidara's face lightened up as he listened to his danna laugh. He smiled. It was a genuine laugh. One that says he was happy. It was a little childish, but it was beautiful. Music to Deidara's ears. "Kidding, brat. Kidding," he said, calming down and bringing his hand to his forehead.

Deidara stood and wrapped his arms around Sasori's waist from behind. Sasori stiffened a little. He relaxed and rested his own hands on top of Deidara's. Deidara smiled as he felt Sasori's hand on his. "I'm violating the boundaries, yeah?" he asked with amusement in his voice.

Sasori smirked. He couldn't resist. He turned around and planted a kiss on Deidara's lips. He nibbled his bottom lip and Deidara opened for him. Without hesitation, Sasori's tongue found Deidara's. A battle for dominance, though short lived, began. Sasori picked Deidara up and laid him on the bed, Sasori on top of him. He broke the kiss after hearing Deidara moan. He stared down at the blond with a smirk. "What was that about boundaries?" he teased.

Deidara blushed and turned his head to look away. "N-nothing, un," he said, blush in full redness.

Sasori smirked and nodded. He gently kissed Deidara's neck and got up, putting his cloak back on. Deidara whined a little and Sasori snickered again. "Stop whining, brat. There's time for that later. You need to get cleaned up. Shower, then dinner," he said, walking out of his room and into the kitchen.

Deidara laid on Sasori's bed, trying to grasp if that was dream or reality. Coming to the conclusion it was reality, considering his lips were warm and heated, he got up in a daze-like state. He wobbled to the kitchen and smiled at his danna sipping water. He sat down after retrieving a glass of water himself and sighed, resting his head in his hand, looking at his reflection in his water. It was a couple of minutes later that he noticed that Sasori was behind him. He saw the red head's reflection in the water and just about jumped. Deidara was about to say something until Sasori wrapped his arms around Deidara's waist and rested his head on the blond's shoulder. "S-Sasori-danna, un?" he asked, slightly startled at his partner's behavior.

Sasori remained silent. He sighed lightly as he held Deidara and felt the blond tilt his head backward onto his shoulder. Sasori closed his eyes and relaxed as he held him. There was a question that nagged him to be asked. Now or never. "Dei-"

"Sasori-danna, un?" he asked quietly. Sasori made a small "hm" sound and Deidara played with Sasori's fingers. "What is our relationship, un?" he asked quietly.

Sasori was a bit taken aback by the blond's, or should he say, his question. He smirked. He was going to ask him what he thought their relationship was. The tables have turned. Sasori remained quiet for a moment to think about it. He came to a conclusion. He let go of Deidara and spun him in his chair to face him. Deidara's eyes found Sasori's. "I can't say for certain." Deidara's face fell at this. He averted his glance to the side with a shy smile. Sasori grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him again. "But, I can say this," he started in a low whisper, bringing his face closer to Deidara's. His breath was hot on Deidara's lips. They ghosted over them and Deidara's breath increased a little. "We are more than just partners," he whispered before claiming his lips with his own.

* * *

**TBC**


	6. Do You Love Me Too?

A/N: Alright...it is extremely hard balancing family nonsense and writing...oi vey...and on top of that...2 volunteer jobs...Kittie is slightly overworked x.x Anyways...on with the story! Now that my writer's block is subsided and I ran out of anime to watch on myspace XD Oh! And also! Before I forget! Thank you so much for the reviews!!

Of course, thank you for being a loyal updater, ShiranuiKai! I have never heard those words before in any SasoxDei fix that I read before, but hey. They kinda just came to me XD

And yes black55widow, it was about time for fluff. There is lots more

As for Sora Keyblader...I had to put some funny stuff in there XD I kinda think like Dei so...yeah...

NormalAddict, thank you so much for your compliments. I enjoy them. You are too kind. But hey, I take any reviews I get.

As for Vixyfox, I will update soonest I can! -salutes-

And last but not least, KikyoUchiha. I only recently saw the review you growled at Sasori XD nice.

Seriously, you guys have no idea how much I cherish the reviews! Keep em comin! Ja ne!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 6: Do You Love Me Too?_

* * *

Deidara blushed as Sasori kissed him with such passion he never would have thought possible from his puppet partner. He wrapped his arms around Sasori's neck and felt his partner's hold around his waist tighten. Deidara thought it pure bliss. So warm. So inviting. So innocent, yet not. It was a little piece of heaven. In the form of Sasori. Sasori pulled away for Deidara to breathe and saw him panting. He smirked slightly and leaned back in to lick his partner's lips. Deidara's breath caught in his throat as he felt Sasori's tongue on his bruised lips. He let out a whimper and Sasori nipped at the blond's bottom lips, teasing him even more. The puppeteer pulled away suddenly and broke all contact with the blond. Deidara looked at him with bewilderment. Sasori just smirked and walked back to his room nonchalantly.

Deidara raised an eyebrow at this. _'Am I to follow, un?'_ he asked himself. When Sasori gave a short glare back to him, Deidara's question was answered. _'Guess that's a _no_, yeah,'_ he sighed to himself, looking utterly bored. He turned back in his seat, sipping at his water. He smiled with a light blush and finished his drink. He went to his room and sat on his bed, closing his door quietly. He relaxed with his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling in a daze. His lights were off, no light shone in the room. All that was there was the quiet inhales and exhales of steady breathing from the blond.

* * *

Sasori quickly changed from his battle puppet body to his relaxing puppet body to look more human. He sat and sighed lightly before looking around his room. Such a mess. He didn't know how he even made it around. He could barely see the floor, things were cluttered on flat surfaces, even the underneath of his bed was messy. His closet was...hazardous, for lack of a better word. If he were to open a door, a mountain of stuff would no doubt bury the puppet. He sighed lightly. He actually considered letting Deidara clean his room. It would be a change in scenery. Not to mention, it would be more convenient for him.

Shrugging off that last statement, he remembered they only had four days left until Pein summoned them for their first mission. This was about the time where Sasori started to get anxious. With nothing to do, the puppet grew extremely bored. He had already upgraded himself the best he could. All his puppets were repaired too. Meaning, there was no work to be done. Much to Sasori's annoyance. He always had to have something to do. Many times had he found himself going stir crazy with nothing to do. He actually considered begging leader for a mission. Or at least an assassination. But, like always, he refrained and upheld his composure. He didn't want to seem desperate. No. That would just leave him to be the joke among the other members. And Orochimaru didn't make things any better. The bastard had done things that shouldn't have been done. He had said things that shouldn't have been said.

Sasori growled as he was suddenly lost in thought. He stood in the middle of his room, hands clenched into tight balls, his nails breaching his skin. Memories started to flood his mind.

"What's wrong, Sasori-kun?" a familiar and despised voice came from the darkness. Sasori laid on his bed, clothes stripped, his body bound. He tried desperately to get out of the binds. No use. The object of his torture drew nearer. Sasori glared at him. He was drained of his chakra, preventing the chakra strings from being produced for his convenience. "I would have thought the famous Sasori of the Red Sand would have put up more of a fight than this..." the snake-nin cooed.

_Sasori growled. He felt the bed shift and a warmth straddle his torso. No doubt Orochimaru was on top of him. There was no one else here. He always waited for the most inopportune times to have his way with him. Always waited until he knew Sasori couldn't fight back. Like a snake waiting for the slightest distraction before he strikes. "You better release me unless you want me to decapitate you," the red head snarled._

_A laugh was heard in the darkness. "Ha. How very unlikely. The leader will eventually find out about my demise and proceed to kill you," he said, nipping at his captor's neck. He bit down harder and Sasori growled. Though he could not feel it as much, he still knew it was there and what was being done. "And now...you are mine. Let's have some fun, shall we?" the Sound ninja smirked._

_Sasori knew all too well that he liked to play with his "food" before he got down and dirty. This "playing" was never favorable to Sasori. No matter how many times he tried to kill him, the leader, or something or someone else, got in the way. Timing was everything and his was not good enough._

"Sasori-danna?" a small voice said as a hand rested on the red head's shoulder.

Sasori snapped from his daydream and his eyes widened a little. He looked around quickly until his eyes landed on the blond standing in front of him. "Deidara? When did you-"

"Just now, un. You were clenching your fists so hard, I thought you..." he said, breaking off from that statement, remembering Sasori was a puppet and didn't bleed. "You alright, un?" he asked with overpowering concern.

Sasori blinked for a minute, trying to fully get out of his stupor. He brought a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Yeah..." he whispered. He opened his eyes and saw Deidara looking at him, not believing him in the least. Sasori chuckled a little and wrapped an arm around Deidara's waist, pulling him close. "I'm fine, brat," he said, resembling the old Sasori, saying he was.

Deidara's eyes brightened and he smiled. "Good, un!" he smiled. This blond was too energetic for his own good. "You just looked out of it, yeah," he said to Sasori with a small worried smile.

Sasori rolled his eyes. He let go of Deidara and tried to walk to his bed. When he got to his bed, he sat down and sighed. He leaned back on his hands and looked at the floor. Deidara came over to him and smirked deviously. He seated himself in Sasori's lap and Sasori looked at him impassively. "Brat? What are you doing?" he sighed.

Deidara laughed a little. "Sitting with my danna, un," he said, wrapping his arms around Sasori's neck. Sasori made a small grumble that sounded a little like "sitting on your danna is more like it." Deidara rested his head on Sasori's shoulder and Sasori sighed. He wrapped his arm around Deidara's waist while leaning on the other. "Danna?" Deidara called quietly.

"What now, brat?" he asked with a low sigh.

Deidara was quiet before shaking his head and relaxing against Sasori. "It's nothing, un," he said as he closed his eyes and shifted to get comfortable. This resulted in straddling Sasori and leaning his forehead against his shoulder. Sasori looked at him and brushed it off. Sasori felt his energy leave him and he collapsed on his back, his arm giving out beneath him. Deidara looked up at Sasori. He saw his eyes closed and Deidara smiled. "Sasori-danna, un?" he whispered. Sasori grunted quietly in response. "Are you alright, un?" he asked cautiously.

Sasori sighed and kept his eyes closed and his arms around Deidara's waist. "Fine, Deidara. Just tired," he said with a sigh. Deidara let a small "oh" out and Sasori went back to enjoying the quiet. Thanks to Sasori's human parts on this body, he was able to feel Deidara kissing his collarbone lightly. Sasori looked down at Deidara. "Brat," he sighed. "Stop..." he said, squirming a little.

Deidara smiled up at Sasori and laid his head back on Sasori's chest. He closed his eyes and started to drift into a light slumber. He felt something playing with his hair and opened his eyes. He saw Sasori's hand letting his tie down and the blond smiled. Sasori ran his fingers through the soft blond locks and Deidara cuddled closer to Sasori. His movements slowed and Deidara looked up at him. He saw the peaceful face of Sasori and saw that he was "asleep." He smiled softly and tried to get off of Sasori to lay beside him. As soon as he shifted to get off, Sasori's hold around his waist tightened. Deidara looked up at Sasori curiously. "Where do you think you're going, Deidara?" Sasori partially growled out.

Deidara chuckled lightly and sighed. "Just going to lay beside you, Sasori-danna, un," he said quietly. Sasori nodded and pulled himself on the bed completely and under the covers after removing his cloak. He tossed it on the floor and Deidara discarded his own, along with the fish net shirt and the black tank top. He crawled under the covers with Sasori and snuggled close to his danna. Sasori turned out the light and returned to Deidara. He let his arm wrap around Deidara's smaller form as he started to let the exhaustion and sleep deprivation take over him, allowing him to fall into a light sleep. Deidara listened to the steady breathing of his danna before smiling up at his pleasant face. He kissed his danna lightly and rested his head against his collarbone. His eyes closed as he snuggled close to Sasori. "Aishiteru, Sasori-danna, un," he whispered as he tried to fall asleep.

Sasori's eyes snapped open. He looked down at Deidara with a blush on his face. "W-what did you say?" he asked, a bit taken aback by this sudden confession.

Deidara looked up at him with wide eyes. "Uh...I, uh...I said..." Deidara stuttered, clearly flustered that Sasori had heard his confession when he thought him to be sleeping. Knowing he couldn't trick his danna, he repeated himself. "I said...'I love you,' un..." he whispered.

Sasori looked down at Deidara and saw a blush across the blond's face. He sighed a little and pulled Deidara flush against him. He kissed the blond's forehead and let his cheek rest against the soft blond locks of his partner. He honestly didn't know what to say about this confession. He didn't know if he loved Deidara or not. And he certainly didn't feel like analyzing it right now. But, Deidara seemed to want an answer. "I can't give you an answer to that tonight, brat. Wait until tomorrow," he said quietly. Deidara understood that Sasori had to analyze himself and the emotion so he didn't press it further. He just smiled and nodded, falling asleep against his danna's chest. Though he was part puppet, he was still quite warm. With or without Deidara's help. With a silent whisper of "good night" from his blond partner, Sasori felt and heard Deidara fall asleep. "Night, Dei," he whispered, falling into a slumber of his own.

* * *

Sasori awoke from his slumber by a cool breeze hitting his face. He opened his eyes and waited for his vision to return to normal. He sat up in bed and held his head. It was then that he noticed Deidara was gone from his side. He smirked and rolled his eyes. He sighed groggily and swung his legs off the side of the bed, just sitting there with his head in his hands.

Memories of last night flooded his head. _"I said...'I love you,' un..."_ Sasori sighed and grumbled little. He opened his eyes and stared at the floor. Why did this always have to happen to him? Why couldn't his life be simple? Why did his partner have to fall in love with him? Why did he love him? All these questions made Sasori glad to be part puppet. No headache. He remembered he told Deidara that he'd have an answer for him by tonight. He looked outside. Judging by the light and sky, he estimated it to be about noon. He got up out of bed and rubbed his neck, trying to relieve some of the stiffness. Ironic as it was, Sasori did get stiff.

He walked out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. He saw Deidara cooking something and raised an eyebrow. _'The brat cooks?'_ he asked himself. Shrugging that thought aside, he fixed some tea for himself. He left some in the pot for Deidara and took his place at the table. Let the thinking resume. He sighed lightly and just stared at his tea. _'Love...passionate affection for another...feeling of warm personal attachment...sexual attraction toward another,'_ he thought to himself, thinking of the definition of the word. _'He said it to me...so does that mean that he has a strong sexual attraction toward me? If so...why?'_ He let his sight glance toward Deidara and saw him smile warmly back at him. Sasori's vision fell back to his tea. He sipped it and set it back down contently.

Deidara was about to pass it off as nothing serious until he heard a second sigh escape his partner's lips. He started to sip his own tea and he stared at Sasori quizzically. "Sasori-danna, un?" he asked quietly, walking over to him quietly. Sasori snapped from his daze, or rather his death glare at his tea, and looked at Deidara. "Are you ok, un?" he asked cautiously.

Sasori sighed at his partner and nodded. He saw his partner wasn't convinced so he looked at him completely, tearing his sight away from his tea. "Yes, Deidara. I'm fine..." he sighed. Deidara still didn't look like he was convinced. He glared at Deidara. "Why do you care?" he asked, harsher than he intended to be.

Deidara flinched a little, but still smiled. He walked over to Sasori and smiled genuinely. "Isn't it obvious, Danna, un?" he asked with a small smile. Sasori quirked a brow at his blond partner. Deidara chuckled lightly. He looked at Sasori seriously. "It's because I love you, yeah," he smiled before kissing his danna's lips softly.

Sasori's eyes widened a bit. He wrapped his arms around Deidara's waist and pulled him closer after the initial shock faded. Deidara leaned into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around his danna's neck and smiled happily. Sasori broke the kiss to give Deidara air and looked at the sculptor's flustered face. As he looked further into Deidara's blue eyes, he saw the love he spoke of. Sasori sighed and rested his head against Deidara's chest. Deidara looked down at his danna curiously. "Danna, un?" he asked, running his fingers through his partner's red locks.

Sasori shook his head and remained silent. This "love" thing was too complicated for his taste. He looked up at Deidara and kissed him once more. Deidara gasped and Sasori took the opportunity to push his tongue into the blond's mouth. He slid it along the other's gracefully and passionately. Deidara let a small moan escape him and Sasori smirked. He pulled away again and Deidara followed for a second before regaining his footing. He blushed and smiled shyly. Sasori sighed. He let his head droop, his bangs covering his eyes. "Remember what you said last night?" he asked. Deidara nodded slowly, scared as to where this was going. Sasori paused, organizing his thoughts before continuing. Deidara waited patiently. Well...sort of. His hands played with Sasori's Akatsuki cloak nervously and he bit his lower lip. Finally, Sasori spoke, breaking the silence. "I thought it over." He looked up at Deidara and saw the anxiety in his facial expression. He brought his hand up to play with Deidara's bangs over his left eye. Deidara waited, gulping silently. This indecision was killing him. He had to know. Otherwise, he'd go crazy. Sasori kissed the blond softly on the lips. After a few seconds, he pulled away, leaving a blushing Deidara behind. He smirked and pulled away just so their lips brushed against each other. Their eyes locked and Sasori remained silent, feeling Deidara's unsteady breath against his lips. Sasori stared into Deidara's cerulean orbs quietly. He suddenly removed his face from Deidara's and brought his lips to the blond's ear. He nipped lightly at it before whispering delicately into it. "I love you too," he whispered.

Deidara gasped quietly and tried to get over the initial, yet so obvious, shock. He wrapped his arms around Sasori's neck and pulled him close. Sasori, in turn, held Deidara against his own body. He pulled him between his legs and allowed their chests and stomachs to meet. Sasori pulled Deidara to straddle him and he did. Sasori held him against him, his hands on Deidara's ass. "Danna..." he whispered, laying a kiss on his danna's neck.

Sasori picked Deidara up and walked with him still clinging onto him into Sasori's room. Sasori shut the door and locked it out of habit. He walked over to the bed and dropped Deidara onto it. He removed his cloak and nodded for Deidara to do the same. Deidara obliged and crawled fully onto the bed. He smiled at Sasori. The puppet master smirked down at Deidara and crawled onto the bed on top of his blond partner. Deidara leaned up on his elbows and their lips met. Sasori straddled his partner and Deidara slowly lowered himself onto his back, luring Sasori down with him. Sasori followed and licked the crease of Deidara's lips, seeking entrance. The sculptor opened for him and wrapped his arms around his lover's neck. Their tongues danced with each other, playing the game of cat and mouse. Deidara released a moan when Sasori's hands started to roam said blond's body. Sasori slid his hand under his partner's shirt and Deidara's eyes snapped open. He started to push Sasori off roughly, hell bent on separating them. Sasori broke the kiss to look down at him. "What is it?" he asked with concern.

Tears streamed down Deidara's cheeks as he looked up at the red head. His hands were fisted against Sasori's chest. Fear was prominent in his eyes as he looked up at Sasori. It was then that the red head noticed what had happened. He held sympathy for the blond. He slowly brought his hand to the blond's cheek and stroked it affectionately. The sculptor's tears increased tenfold. Sasori softly kissed away the tears and removed himself from on top of Deidara. He laid beside him and pulled him into his arms. He shushed and comforted the blond to the best of his abilities, not really familiar with the way this works. He stroked Deidara's cheek softly and looked into his eyes. He knew exactly what had happened. Deidara saw Orochimaru. Something snapped in him. Sasori had done something to remind him of Orochimaru's actions. Nonetheless, Sasori had to calm his lover. "Dei?" he whispered softly. Said blond responded with a whimper. Sasori kissed his forehead softly, causing Deidara to look up at him pitifully. "Calm down," he cooed. He held Deidara against him lovingly, stroking his back gently.

Deidara clung to Sasori, burying his face in his chest. "I-I'm sorry, un," he cried.

Sasori sighed lightly and ran his hand up his back and into the blond locks. He held him close and placed gentle kisses on his partner's temple. "Stop apologizing, brat. I understand," he whispered back. Deidara nodded hesitantly. He looked up at Sasori and the puppet master wiped away his tears with his thumb. "Get some rest," he said, placing another kiss on his forehead. Sasori made to get up, and felt something latch onto his wrist in a death grip.

"D-don't leave me, un," he begged desperately. Sasori smirked and nodded. He returned to his partner's side and instantly felt him cuddle against him as close as he could. Sasori let his arm wrap around the blond securely. The Akasuna heard the blond's breathing even out and his body become limp. He looked down at him and sighed quietly. He brushed the blond hair that had fallen over his face behind his ear and closed his eyes to go to sleep himself. Orochimaru would pay for what he had done to Sasori and his new lover. Sasori didn't _ever_ want to see that look in Deidara's eyes again. If it meant that Orochimaru had to die, then so be it. Sasori would kill him. With that last evil thought in his mind, Sasori's breathing evened out and he too fell into a light slumber.

* * *

**TBC**


	7. New Mission Assignments

A/N: Sorry for the tease last chapter. I promise there will be a lemon or a few lemons in this story. But now is not the time for one of those lemons. There is one coming up rather soon though! Promise! And also, thank you so much for the awesome reviews!!! Sadly, I can't access them at the moment, due to the site being queer...but I will reply to them next chapter! Also, I am going to be internet-less for the next 3-6 days...sadly...alot of family issues and I am moving. But I swear! As soon as I get back, I'll have like 2 or 3 chapters for you!!! Oh! And happy holidays to all! And I apologize in advance for the typos...my beta ain't working . 

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 7: New Mission Assignments_

* * *

Sasori awoke the next morning with a new resolve. He had a plan and he wanted to do something. Now. Screw his pride and damn his stubbornness. Seeing that his blond partner was still asleep, he smirked. The blond truly did deserve to rest. That is why he would request to go alone. Sasori moved the hair from Deidara's face and twirled it idly between his fingers. After a few minutes, Sasori decided to drag himself out of bed. In order to do that, however, he risked waking Deidara. But things had to be done. In order for him to be able to get out of bed without waking Deidara, he had to disintangle his fingers from around his waist. That in itself was going to be tricky. He thought the blond to be a light sleeper.

Sasori sighed and began the "delicate operation." He gently removed Deidara's arms from around him and replaced it with a pillow instead. Sasori succeeded. Now all that was left was to get dressed. He stumbled around in the dimly lit room, searching for his discarded Akatsuki cloak. He walked over to the closet. He knew he threw it somewhere over here last night. It wouldn't be inside the closet. And even if it was, Sasori would be damned if he was going to open the death trap to get it. His fingers ran across a fabric and Sasori looked at it. Seeing the red and white printed cloud design, he nodded. He quickly put it on and made his way to the door. He glanced back at Deidara and saw him sleeping. Kami knew the blond needed it more than anyone.

Sasori quietly exited his room and walked to Pein's office. He rapped at the door quietly, knowing the other members. Hidan and Kakuzu preferred to sleep in well past noon, Kisame and Itachi were no doubt up late last night doing Kami knows what so they wouldn't be up for a while, unless prematurely woken, Tobi was away, Konan was usually up early unless she spent the night with Pein, and Zetsu was outside. What a strange team they had. Sasori waited for an answer and he received it. He opened the door a few seconds after a voice beckoned him inside. Sasori saw Pein put a few papers away and look at him. "You're up early, Sasori," Pein commented. As he looked at the red head more, he saw a certain serious look. This look alone was dangerous. He only got this look when something was seriously wrong. Something he knew only he could take care of. "What is it?"

Sasori closed the door and seated himself. He looked at the leader and smirked. "I need to go on a mission."

* * *

A loud banging came at the door and Deidara grumbled. He thought that if he ignored it, it would go away. How wrong he was. Sleep was lost to him. The banging came again. Deidara grumbled and got out of bed, stumbling over to the door. He flung it open and glared at who had disturbed his sleep. "What!?" he growled, livid from the loss of sleep.

Kisame stood there shirtless and looking rather upset. More so angry. Deidara could tell he didn't want to be up right now. "Leader says to get your ass in the meeting room. Mission assignments. Hurry up and-" It was then that Kisame noticed Deidara was half naked and in Sasori's room. "What are you doing in Sasori's room?" he asked suggestively with a smirk.

Deidara growled and glared at the shark. "Not what you think, un," he growled. "I'll be there in a few minutes, yeah," he said, slamming the door in the Kiri-nin's face. And so, the search for his clothes begins.

* * *

Ten minutes passed by and Deidara met the others in the gathering room. He took his seat in his chair next to Pein and kept quiet, silently cursing whoever called this meeting. That'd be Pein. He saw no reason for him to be here, considering he and Sasori had another four days until they were sent out on a mission.

Snapping from his thoughts, he concentrated on Pein's words. "It has come to my attention that there are some personal issues amongst our members...er...ex-members," he said, looking at Sasori and Deidara. "Also...Hidan and Kakuzu have located a spirit. Kisame and Itachi have business to attend to in Konoha. Zetsu and Tobi are to go to Konoha and gather information. In short, I have missions for everyone."

Everyone sat up straight. Deidara refrained from protesting. He just sat there, playing with his ring. Pein continued when he saw everyone at attention. "Zetsu and Tobi," he called. The two looked at Pein. "Go to Konoha to gather information on the Kyuubi. Zetsu, it is best if you are not seen. It may raise suspicions. Instead, stay on the outskirts and gather information on who enters and leaves the village." They both nodded and were gone in a minute. Pein continued. "Konan and I have matters to attend to in River country," he said, getting that small issue out of the way. "Kisame and Itachi." The two said members looked at Pein. "Go take care of your business in Konoha," he ordered. Said two left and Pein turned on Hidan and Kakuzu. They straightened under his glare. "You two are to continue searching for spirits and inform me on any information you may find." The two nodded and left.

The only ones left were Sasori and Deidara. Pein turned to Sasori. "Your mission is granted. Go take care of your personal issue with Orochimaru. But," he said assertively. Sasori looked at him stoicly. "You have two days. If it is not done by then...you are to return here. Is that understood?" Sasori nodded. "Orochimaru was spotted not too far from here. According to Zetsu, he was on his way out of here. Two days is reasonable time to take care of your business. They couldn't have gotten far. If you hurry, you can catch him." Deidara visibly straightened. Pein turned on Deidara. "Deidara," he said sternly. "You are to stay here and watch the base. Understood?" he asked. Deidara reluctantly nodded and Pein nodded. "Sasori is to leave whenever he sees fit." With that, he and Konan left.

Deidara turned to Sasori and stared fearfully. "What-"

Sasori held up his hand to silence him. "It is my battle, Deidara. Not yours. I vowed I would kill him," he said dangerously. Deidara felt tears coming. Sasori sighed and walked over to him. He knelt in front of him and rested his hands on Deidara's knees. "I'll be fine, brat," he said monotonously.

Deidara didn't answer. He just nodded and Sasori wiped away his unfallen tears. Before Sasori completely retracted his hand, Deidara grabbed his wrist. Sasori looked at him curiously. Deidara stared at him intently. "You better come back, un," Deidara said seriously. Sasori stared for a moment, seeing the fear and pain in his partner's eyes. Sasori cupped his cheek with the other hand and kissed him gently. Deidara kissed back and wrapped his arms around Sasori's neck lovingly. His hold held much need. Sasori gently stroked the blond's back as he kissed him. Deidara pulled away for lack of air and rested his head on Sasori's shoulder.

"It's only two days, Deidara," Sasori said quietly. Deidara nodded. The puppeteer pulled away from his partner's embrace and looked at him seriously. He smirked. "You're too attached," he said simply with a hint of sadness in his voice. He got up, not waiting for an answer from the blond, and walked into his room. He shut and locked the door before sitting on his bed with a sigh. In the long run, Deidara's attachment was going to be a bad thing. Sasori was happy to see that Deidara loved him, but he didn't want to see the blond hurt. That's why he took on this mission. He wasn't expecting Pein to go into full detail of it, but this only saved Sasori from explaining later. He knew full well that he would be coming back a "bloody" mess. Better to have the explosives artist know now than then.

Sasori sighed. For once, he wasn't looking forward to leaving base. Deidara would be here alone. He would be in the safety of the base. But...what if something happened to him? Sasori quickly removed that thought from his head. No way in hell was he going to think of all the bad things that could happen.

* * *

The night came and went and it was time for Sasori to leave. He got the scrolls for his puppets and made Hiruko ready. Before climbing inside, he paused. He couldn't just leave without telling Deidara bye. With that thought, he opened his door and went to Deidara's room. He opened the door and saw Deidara sitting on his bed, awake. He was a bit taken aback at the blond being up so early, but blinked away his confusion. "You leaving, danna, un?" the blond asked, not tearing his vision away from outside the window.

Sasori stepped in the blond's room and nodded. "Yes. Mind as well say goodbye. Knowing you, you'd get mad and try to blow me up when I get back," he smirked. Deidara obviously didn't find anything comical in this. Sasori sighed at his pensive partner. He walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Deidara put his hand on Sasori's and continued to stare out the window. "What is it?" he asked.

Deidara was hesitant to answer. "I...had a dream, un," he said seriously. "Sort of like deja vu, yeah," he said, looking at Sasori seriously. The same fear as last night was present. Sasori sighed. Deidara lowered his vision and continued. "Orochimaru came, yeah. Everyone was gone," he said barely above a whisper.

"He won't come, Dei. I'm going to kill him. He wouldn't be here and with me at the same time," Sasori reasoned. He tried to convince Deidara and himself at the same time. Neither bought it. Sasori didn't know what to do. "There's poison in my room. If you need it-"

Deidara leaned up and kissed Sasori. Sasori stopped and stood there. He kissed him back and wrapped his arms around the blond, pulling him close. Deidara pulled away and Sasori saw tears. The Iwa-nin buried his head in the puppeteer's chest and cried softly. "Hurry and come back, un."

Sasori nodded. "I will..." he promised quietly. Deidara let go and Sasori wiped away the tears again. Before he got anymore side tracked, he left. He seated himself in Hiruko and left toward Zetsu's directions. No doubt this would be a long day.

* * *

Deidara sat in his room, alone. He tried not to let anything bother him, but damn was it hard. Sasori would return within two days time. Orochimaru would be dead, finally. He was safe in the confines of the base. Everyone was gone. No annoyances. No company. Also, he was free to do as he wished. Come and go as he pleased. Experiment with cooking to impress Sasori. That thought brought a small smile to the blond's face. Maybe being alone for two full days wouldn't be so bad.

So he thought.

* * *

**TBC**


	8. Stir Crazy Terrorist and a Problem

A/N: Sorry for the last chapter being so short and blech. I had major writer's block. But in way, it had to be done. And besides, if I were to put this chapter and the previous one together, it'd be too long ; So...it all works out, I guess. I also apologize for the cliff hanger. I didn't think I would have computer access today...Apparently I do...for now. We are going to start moving in a few minutes. I just took time to post one last chapter. Again, I apologize for the spelling/grammatical errors. Beta is still not working...Anyways! On to chapter 8! Ja ne!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 8: Stir Crazy Terrorist and a Problem _

* * *

Deidara sat alone in base. He flipped through records and reports and decided to keep himself busy. Pein had given him access, as well as the other members, to his archives. This was the time Deidara would need to get acquainted with the biju and the Jinchuuriki. Occupying more than half of Pein's folder, Deidara gawked. "How can he have so much files, un?!" he exclaimed as he started to pull them out, one by one.

By the time he was done pulling papers, the whole desk was covered. Time to research. The first paper Deidara came across was the Shukkaku, or Ichibi. He picked up the paper and read it carefully.

_"Shukaku is a 1-tailed raccoon-dog, native to Japan and other asian countries. Shukaku has had 2 hosts before with Gaara being the most eminent. The Shukaku was merged into Gaara when he was born. It is able to manipulate the special sand within Gaara's gourd without Gaara needing to control it. The sand can block all incoming attacks that it can react to. The sand can also be controlled by Gaara to form a shell around him or to attack. Shukaku seems to want blood and demands that Gaara kill for sustenance. A side-effect of having Shukaku within him Gaara is not allowed to sleep; if he does Shukaku will take over him and reform itself out of sand around Gaara as seen during the invasion of Konoha at the end of the Chuunin exams. Much like Naruto, the citizens of the Sand Village ignore and try to avoid Gaara, mostly out of fear."_

Deidara raised a brow at this. He didn't push it. He knew some things about Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna, but didn't bother to care. Continuing onward:

_"Nibi is a 2-tailed cat with fire breathing powers. Nibi's original Jinchuuriki was a girl named Yugito from the Village of Cloud. She was the second strongest ninja in her village and she had the ability to transform completely into the two tailed demon cat almost at will. The demon cat can shoot fireballs from her mouth at her opponent. Showing that Yugito wasn't hated by everyone around her hinted that the demon in her isn't hated by everyone and she was viewed by others how the Hokage wanted everyone to view Naruto."_

Deidara scoffed. "A fire breathing cat, un. Sounds like Itachi, yeah!" he laughed. He shook his head and continued onto the next.

"_The three-tailed beast is a gigantic, turtle-like demon. The abilities of this creature, at the moment, are unknown. Sanbi is extremely large and also has great speed. What makes the Sanbi unique from the other demons, is that it does not have a host and it doesn't seem to have any sign of intelligence."_

Deidara raised a brow. "Not having a host makes it weaker because it isn't intelligent enough to control its own strength, un," he said arrogantly. He wrote that down on the paper and grinned.

"_Kyuubi is a demon fox. Where he came from no one knows. He came to the __Konoha__ 12 years ago and destroyed most of it. His tail could cause earthquakes and tsunami's. His chakra is everlasting and very powerful. It was when the fourth Hokage, Yondaime, sealed the Demon Fox inside Naruto Uzumaki as a vessel and thus died."_

Deidara's eyes widened. "Unlimited amounts of chakra, yeah?" he said. "Earthquakes and tsunamis, too, un," he blinked. A name stuck out at him. Yondaime. He didn't know why. But it did. He shook it from his thoughts and sighed as he finished the last piece of information. Now fully educated on the tailed beasts, Deidara sighed as he leaned backward. He was now physically exhausted. He was up early from his dream to bid farewell to Sasori. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Shaking his head, he decided to head off to bed. Hopefully he could get some sleep.

He stood up and put the papers away, filing them just as Pein left them. He stretched and was interrupted mid stretch by a crashing sound in his bedroom. His eyes widened. His vision snapped to the door when he heard footsteps. Deidara pulled a kunai from his pouch and waited.

The footsteps stopped. Deidara listened to the best of his abilities but heard nothing. He slowly walked over to the door. He leaned against the wall and quietly turned the knob. He peered out and saw an empty, dark hallway. It was unsettling. He wasn't alone and all he could think about was that the intruder could hide anywhere in the darkness. He was at a disadvantage. And he knew it. Sighing lightly, he deicded to just go with it.

He walked out of the room, clinging to the wall, his back pressed firmly against it, melting into the shadows. He made it to his bedroom door and saw it slightly ajar. This made the blond artist curious. Quickly looking around, he put his hand to his side, searching for a pouch holding his clay. When he didn't feel it, he looked down. His eyes grew wide. He had made a grave mistake. He had taken it off. It was now in his room. And currently, his room was a death trap. The intruder, though not visible, was there. He knew it. In the pit of his stomach, he knew the intruder was waiting for him to enter his bedroom to check things out.

Deidara thought his options over. He had to think. If he rushed in, he risked dying or getting captured. At the same time, all he had was shuriken and a kunai. The odds were not in his favor. He was defenseless. Deciding to go for it, Deidara steadied his breathing before rushing into his bedroom. His eyes darted around the room. To the right. No one. To the left. No one. In the shadows. No one. Loosening his tight grip on the kunai, he stepped forward cautiously. He saw his pouch laying on his bed. It was all staged. It's a trap. They want him to go for the pouch. No doubt they were waiting for him to come into view. Wherever the intruder was, they had a perfect view of him right now. At this very moment, they were watching his every move. Waiting for him to make a move for the clay. Waiting for him to slip up. Waiting for him to stand still and think over his options like he was now.

Deidara was hit with a stunning realization. This had all been staged. They had planned for him to leave the safety of Pein's office. They had planned for him to sneak down the hall. They had planned for him to barge into his room. They had planned for him to stop and weigh out his options like he was now. They had planned everything perfectly. As Deidara was hit with this realization, he was hit with something else. In the back of the head. He was knocked unconscious. As he slipped into unconsciousness, he realized he made a grave mistake. He played into the enemy's hands.

* * *

Sasori trudged on, searching for Orochimaru. What he found, however, now that he was almost a full day away from the base, was a note. He got out of Hiruko and picked up the note. He looked around. It was too quiet. He didn't like it. No one was around, yet here was a note in the middle of the forest. No footprints. Nothing. Sasori glared at the note.

"You're too late."

Sasori crumbled up the paper and slammed it on the ground. He quickly made his way back to base. He knew who was behind this. And he'd be damned if he got his hands on Deidara again while Sasori was alive. Shoving his anger aside, Sasori ran as fast as he could back to base. He prayed he wasn't too late to save Deidara. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

* * *

Deidara awoke with a splitting headache. He shook his head and tried to sit up, but found that he was bound to the bed. His eyes shot open in fear. _"Not again!" _he thought, yanking at the binds that held him firmly in place. His heart sped up exponentially. He tried desperately to get out of them. It was useless.

A voice came to him. "What's wrong, Dei-chan?" a mocking voice came from the darkness. His own bedroom was turned into his own hell. The man stepped from the shadows and grinned at the frantic Deidara.

Deidara's face turned into a scowl. It held nothing but loathing and hatred for the man standing in front of him. "Orochimaru," he growled, vemon dripping from the very tone of Deidara's voice.

Orochimaru smirked and laughed. The very sound made Deidara cringe. He always chose the most inopportune times to get to the blond. This was all staged. He knew Sasori would snap. It was only a matter of time. And Orochimaru just so happened to predict the precise time it would happen. "What's with the sudden pensive attitude, Deidara? It's not like you," the snake-nin said mockingly.

Deidara turned his vision to the ceiling, not even bothering to look at Orochimaru. "You knew, un," he said, barely audible. The snicker from the snake-nin was confirmation enough that he was right. "You...you knew that Sasori-danna would want to kill you! You-"

Orochimaru cut him off with a kunai to his neck. Deidara silenced himself as he glared into the man's amber eyes hatefully. A vile smirk adorned his features. "You are correct. I knew Sasori would get frustrated and go stir crazy with what I have done. I planted the information for the others. Currently, Tobi and Zetsu are following false information that I had Kabuto plant for me," he smirked. And Konoha...is at least a two day walk from here," Orochimaru added, clearly proud of himself. "Kakuzu and Hidan are currently following false information as well. You see...I planted some more information in Tea Country. Knowing full well they'd stop there. After all, that's their main source of information."

Deidara glared at him. What could he do? Sasori was too far away. There was no way he could save him. It had to be a miracle for Sasori to save him now. "All this...why is it such a big deal, un?" he asked, more like growled.

Orochimaru smirked and straddled him. He leaned down to Deidara's ear and nipped it roughly. "Because...you are mine and mine alone, Deidara," he whispered dangerously into the blond's ear.

Deidara couldn't take it anymore. "The hell I am, yeah!" he growled. He spat in the snake's face and Orochimaru stared distastefully at Deidara. Deidara wore an arrogant smirk. "I will never belong to anyone but Sasori-danna, un!" he growled defiantly.

Orochimaru found amusement in this. "You truly think he loves you?" he grinned. "He only said that to make you shut up and stop bothering him! What makes you think an object can love? He's not human," he smirked. "He has no heart. How do you know he's not just saying that to make you feel better? How do you know he means it?" he countered.

Deidara's eye grew wide. He hadn't thought about that. "No! He loves me, yeah! Sasori-danna wouldn't lie to me!" he said, desperately trying to convince himself that was true. He had no doubt it was. This was just another ploy to break him.

Orochimaru broke into laughter. "Oh, I don't think so, Deidara. Sasori says many things he doesn't mean. Think real hard. I'm sure you can remember at least one instance that he said something to one and meant and thought another," he smirked. He could literally see the wheels turning in Deidara's head as he tried to think of a time that happened.

His reaction was not what Orochimaru had expected. Deidara smiled lovingly at the thought of his danna. He looked the snake-nin straight in the face and never lost his smile. "Sasori-danna has always been truthful with me, un. He wouldn't lie to me. He would tell me straight up, yeah," he said softly. Such tenderness at the mere thought of the red headed Akasuna.

Orochimaru growled and punched Deidara roughly. "You insolent brat!" he growled. Orochimaru smirked. "Hm. No matter. I will soon make you scream for help. You know I like how audible you are," he smirked devillishly. Deidara had no reaction. He just kept his head down and showed no signs of reacting. His cheek was swollen again. His left cheek stung with the resonating punch. No doubt there would be yet another bruise there. Orochimaru took to biting Deidara's neck again. He bit hard enough to mark him, as always. Deidara didn't even give him the satisfaction of whimpering at the pain. He just laid there. There was no point. No matter what he did, no matter what he said...this would never stop. Not as long as he was alive. Not as long as Orochimaru was alive. Not as long as Orochimaru had access to him. It would never end. One nightmare after another. Deidara hadn't even noticed that Orochimaru had removed the blond's clothes, as well as his own. He was too busy thinking of Sasori one last time. No matter what happened, he would never be happy. Pain and sorrow was destined to follow the Iwa-nin. He was naiive to believe that Sasori could change that. Never again. He was too hopeful.

* * *

Sasori ran as fast as he could. It was times like these that he wished he had Pein's teleportation jutsu. He made a mental note to request to be taught it. Sasori's pace increased as he dragged Hiruko along with his chakra strings. Though big, Hiruko was rather agile and fast. But they could only go but so fast.

Sasori grit his teeth. Orochimaru. That snake. He had planned this all. Right down to Deidara being left alone. Sasori came to a realization. Deidara's dream was right. Sasori cursed himself for not paying more attention to the blond. He made a mental note to apologize and do whatever it takes to make Deidara feel better. That is...if he weren't already too late.

* * *

**TBC**


	9. Distress Leads To

A/N: Alrighty then! I like how this story is coming along...anyways...I like Orochimaru TT I hate havin him be like this...but it must be done...sighs oh well...oh! and before I forget...forgot Nevermind... On with the story! Wait...I apologize for the making you wait thing!! I am extremely sorry. I have my internet back now though. And I have written lots!! I hope it will make up for my absence. I would have finished the story while I was away, but I needed internet to do some research crucial to the story. Now that I have it, I will get to work on chapter 18!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 9: Distress Leads To... _

* * *

Orochimaru continued his vile acts upon the blond artist, taking pleasure in the boy's distress. The Sound-nin dug his teeth into the boy's collarbone, earning a choked grunt in pain. Deidara had let it slip, not really caring anymore. He was doomed no matter what, so what did it matter? Orochimaru was going to have his way...like always. And Deidara couldn't do a damn thing about it.

The snake-nin's pale white skin contrasted eerily with Deidara's tanned, normal colored skin. The pale man continued his biting and slid his tongue up and down Deidara's chest, running over a nipple. Deidara had to bite his lips and clench his fists to keep from arching and moaning. He refused to let his body betray his mind. It shouldn't work that way. He promised himself that his body was Sasori's. And Sasori's only. Whether he acted upon it or not was Akasuna's decision. No matter what, though, Deidara was always going to be his. Even if he was rejected.

The Iwa-nin was snapped back to reality when the snake wrapped his tongue around Deidara's member, that was now standing at attention, against Deidara's will, of course. Orochimaru started to drag his tongue up and down Deidara's length, earning a disgusted look from the blond artist. He tried to squirm but was instantly restrained with Orochimaru's hands on his hips, nails digging into his flesh. Deidara yelped in pain. "Bastard...un," he breathed.

Orochimaru snickered and the vibrations against his member made Deidara shudder. The blond glared at the snake-nin before laying his head back in resignation. He tried to think of Sasori. He tried to imagine Sasori doing this to him instead of his captor of the past few years. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he imagined what it would be like. Sadly, he would never know. Sasori didn't want him that way. Sure, he loved him, but loving and being in love were two different things. What if what Orochimaru said was true? What if Sasori had only said those things to make the blond stop badgering him? Or what if he said it to not hurt his feelings? What if he didn't mean those words at all? Deidara didn't want to think of those options. He refused to believe the puppeteer lied to him in the cruelest way imaginable. Deidara truly loved Sasori. And Sasori loved him, too...right?

The artist felt Orochimaru remove himself from his member and was grateful. That is, until Orochimaru forcefully flipped him onto his knees, twisting his hands in the binds. He whimpered in pain and lowered his head to brace for the pain that was sure to come. He knew that if he were to kick back like last time, Orochimaru would find some way to horribly pain him. Last time, he roughly grabbed Deidara's balls. The Iwa-born shuddered at that memory. How bad that hurt. The lingering pain with his nails dragging along him. Deidara bit his lip hard, trying to cope with the circumstances.

The explosives specialist was snapped from his thoughts yet again by an unbearable pain in his ass. Orochimaru had inserted himself inside of him. Deidara screamed in agony and waves of pain shuddered through his body. He soon started to whimper. He bit his lip harshly to take the pain away from his backside. He tried to focus on other things other than the present. He thought of Sasori. Repeating his words in his head over and over again. _"I love you too...We are more than just partners...I will never harm you."_ Deidara smiled sadly at those words. Sasori would never harm him like this vile creature was now. Suddenly, the pain subsided and was removed altogether. "Sasori-danna, un," he whispered. This made things a bit more bearable. With thoughts of Sasori loving him...kissing him...holding him. This made Deidara accept his happiness with Sasori.

The blond was brutally shoved into the wall, his already bruised face becoming more bruised by the minute. He was brought back to reality. Orochimaru had him pinned against the wall, thrusting into him savagely. He heard the snake-nin grunting. He was close. Deidara was thankful that he was almost through this hellish activity. He felt a pull on his hair, like always, and fangs sinking into his shoulder. The artist winced in pain and resisted the urge to whimper. Instead, he bit his lip again. Blood leaked from his mouth and Deidara's eyes pooled with tears.

Finally, Orochimaru released. "Sasori-danna, un," Deidara whispered as he slumped into the bed. Orochimaru looked down at his "toy" and looked satisfied. Deidara's right shoulder was bruised and bleeding, his lip was bleeding, the sheets were bloody due to Orochimaru's forced entry, the blond's hips were bruised hideously and bleeding, and Deidara's palms bled from where his nails were digging into himself during the whole fit. Orochimaru was more than satisfied. This is how he preferred it. "Sasori-danna," Deidara whimpered.

Orochimaru smirked and grew bored of Deidara. "When are you going to learn, Deidara? You mean nothing to Sasori. It's one sided infatuation. He will never return your feelings. He will never see you as you want him to. He lied to you," Orochimaru stated, getting dressed.

Deidara's whimpering was soon followed by tears and cries for Sasori. They were choked. Strangled. Weak. He had no energy. No fight left. He didn't have an ounce of resistance left in him. He was broken beyond repair. Shattered beyond recognition. And he was still tied to the bed by his wrists.

At the time, Deidara didn't care in the least. All he cared about was dying. That's all he wanted to do. Damn his life. Damn living. Damn Orochimaru. Damn Akatsuki. One thing he could not damn, however, was Sasori. For he still had feelings for the Akasuna. He refused to believe Orochimaru. He did believe him in some instances, but he wouldn't dare voice that, knowing full well it'd give Orochimaru the utmost pleasure at hearing it. Instead, Deidara laid there, silent tears falling down his cheeks. How he wished Sasori was here. Even in his weakest of moments, he still thought of Sasori. It was then that he noticed Orochimaru was gone.

* * *

Sasori clenched his teeth as he sped toward the base. He was less than five minutes away. The lead Zetsu had given was a total flop. He hadn't been there at all! Sasori had the nerve to make a note to kill Zetsu and feed him to Shino's bugs when he got the chance. Either that or use him as fertilizer.

As he ran, the puppeteer felt a sharp pang in his chest. He instinctively brought his hand up to where his heart was and noticed that something didn't feel right. He suddenly got a sinking feeling. This only succeeded in quickening his movements. The faster he returned to Deidara, the better. He seriously hoped he wasn't too late. But something told him he was.

Sasori continued to kick himself as he traveled swiftly back into the village of Ame. People gave him odd looks, but he paid them no mind. All that was on his mind was Deidara. His safety. His well being. _Him_. Sasori didn't like this feeling he was getting. It seemed that as he neared the Akatsuki base, the sinking feeling gradually got worse. His chest ached. His head throbbed. His stomach burned. This was not good. He prayed to any god out there that he wasn't too late. He wouldn't be able to live with himself, or face Deidara, if he were.

He felt his hatred for Orochimaru rekindle like a phoenix rising from the ashes, ready to start its new life. There was a renewed fire in Sasori's eyes. A new feeling of resolve. Resolve to kill. Resolve to live. Resolve to protect Deidara and keep his eye on the blond every moment of the day. Resolve to hold the fellow artist and tell him exactly how he felt.

Right around the corner now. As he rounded the corner, he saw two figures that looked deathly familiar walking up ahead. One had long black hair, the other white. Sasori brushed it aside for now. It was probably his irrational thoughts, thinking that he saw Orochimaru and Kabuto. His mind was playing tricks on him. They weren't really here. They wouldn't be that stupid as to walk aimlessly around the village, knowing Sasori was pissed beyond belief.

The Suna-born burst through the door of the shared apartment like building. "Deidara!" he called desperately. No answer. It smelled of sex. It smelled of sweat. Sasori's eyes grew wide with anger and realization. He quickly ran through the house, searching desperately to find his blond partner. His attention was drawn to Deidara's room where he saw dim candle light and heard tiny whimpers and sniffles. Sasori threw open the already ajar door and saw a naked Deidara curled up in the fetal position, crying. His arms were bound to the headboard. The sheets were stained with blood. Deidara's body was marred with bruises and bleeding spots.

Sasori ran over to his blond partner. "Dei?" he asked in a tiny voice. Deidara stiffened. The ex-Suna felt horrible. He looked down at Deidara sadly. Orochimaru's doing. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that it was that damned snake-nin's fault. Sasori quickly undid the binding of the blond's wrists and scooped him up into his arms. He carried the Iwa-born to his room and sat him on the bed, kneeling next to him on the floor, brushing his hand over Deidara's cheek. His eyes were empty. Sasori stared and saw that he was broken. Worse than when they first met. "Dei?" he called again, grabbing hold of his partner's hand gently.

Deidara raised his eyes to look at Sasori slowly. His expression was blank. It held no emotions. It held no joy. No sorrow. Nothing. It was empty. It pained the puppet. His once shining blue eyes were now dull and hollow. "Sasori-danna...you came, un," he whispered.

Sasori nodded and stared at Deidara. He cupped the blond's cheek and ran his thumb over it gently and affectionately. "I'm here, Dei," he said softly.

Deidara smiled sadly. "I'm glad, un," he said quietly. Sasori felt his heart break at the blond's submissive behavior. "You came back for me, yeah?" he asked pathetically, tears pooling in his eyes again.

If Sasori could cry, he'd be crying rivers right about now. Instead, he settled for sitting on the bed and pulling Deidara into his embrace. He held the blond close, burying his face into the sculptor's neck. His hand was on the back of Deidara's head, the other around his waist. His head rested on Sasori's shoulder. The Akasuna started to rock his partner comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, Dei..." he whispered softly. Deidara didn't respond. Right now, he didn't care about anything. "Oh, Kami...I'm so sorry," he continued. "I shouldn't have left you. I should have listened to you. I should have taken you with me!" Sasori said a bit louder.

Deidara shook his head. He brought his hand up to Sasori's chest and clutched his Akatsuki cloak. "It would have happened, with or without you, un," he said, barely audible. Sasori was about two seconds from breaking into hysterics. Deidara's eyes flooded with tears. He cuddled closer to Sasori and buried his face into the red head's chest. He started to cry hysterically. "Sasori-danna, un!" he cried, holding a death grip on the man's cloak at his chest. His whole body was trembling.

Sasori was scared to touch Deidara with so many injuries along his body. When he heard the hysterical crying fit, however, Sasori instantly wrapped his arms around Deidara, pulling him closer. He gently rubbed the blond's back, cooing in his ear. He shushed him softly, kissing his temple delicately. "I'm here, Dei," he whispered. He felt horrible. Words couldn't express how bad he felt. If he had only stayed with Deidara, this wouldn't have happened. He was seriously mentally kicking his own ass right now. "It's alright, Dei...calm down...I'm here now," he whispered. He laid another kiss on Deidara's temple.

Deidara sniffled and tried to get even closer to Sasori as he already was. He didn't care if he was naked. What did clothes matter when you were just brutally raped? Nothing. The blond looked up at his danna pitifully. He saw Sasori staring down at him lovingly. The puppeteer brought his hand up to cup the blond's cheek and Deidara was overwhelmed by his previous thoughts. What if Orochimaru was right about him? What if he didn't care? What if this was all an act? Deidara's tears increased tenfold.

Sasori's eyes widened and he held Deidara's face in his hands delicately. "Dei...you have to calm down...you're going to hyperventilate," he said softly. He kissed away Deidara's tears and the blond felt himself calming down, if only a little. When Sasori pulled away from kissing away his tears, he saw Deidara staring at him, unsure of something. Sasori smiled affectionately at the blond Iwa-nin. "I love you, Dei," he whispered before kissing the blond's forehead. He wouldn't dare kiss his lips yet. Not until he knew he was stable.

Deidara sobbed into Sasori's chest quietly. He said it. He said those words. Deidara kicked away all his doubts about the Suna-born not truly loving him. How could he doubt him now? Not after he had just smiled that way at him. Deidara felt horrible for even doubting his partner in the first place. "Sasori-danna...I love you, un," he cried softly. Sasori wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

* * *

Hours flew by and Deidara was finally calm. Given, he was still naked and sitting in Sasori's lap, but he was calm. Sasori was currently cradling him against him, resting his head on the blond's while said Iwa-nin had a death grip on the fabric of the Akasuna's cloak. Sasori was minding his hands and kept them around his partner's waist the whole time. "Dei?" he called quietly. The sculptor shifted a little. "Let's get you cleaned up...okay?" he asked delicately. Deidara nodded and Sasori kissed his forehead again. He scooped the Iwa man into his arms and headed toward their shared bathroom. He sat Deidara on the counter while he drew the bath.

As the water filled the tub, Sasori went over to him. He helped Deidara take his hair down from the matted hair tie and the blond just sat there, letting him disentangle his hair from the red band. Once he was done, Sasori set the tie aside. He held Deidara's face in his hands and tilted his head up to look at him. Deidara looked at him and brought his hand up to hold Sasori's. He pressed his face into his hand and Sasori's mouth twitched in a brief sad smile. Deidara opened his visible eye and looked at Sasori sadly. The Akasuna felt him release his hand. He stared at the blond intently, forgetting everything but Deidara, but still keeping an ear out for the bath. "Forgive me, Dei," he said monotonously, trying his best to hide his sadness. He always did this.

Deidara was used to Sasori's tones and what he really meant. He smiled briefly, another fake one, and shook his head. "Nothing to forgive, yeah," he said earnestly. In all truths, there really was nothing for him to forgive him for. He had done nothing wrong.

Sasori nodded and went back to the bath. He stopped the water and felt it, feeling it was warm enough. He was in his human puppet body, so he had feeling. He went back over to Deidara and helped him up again. He carried him to the bath and set him in gently. Deidara hissed in pain as the warm water hit his wounds. Sasori observed the water slowly changing from clear to a tainted red. The red head flinched at the sight. So much blood. He looked at Deidara and saw him easing up. Sasori finished lowering the blond into the water and retracted his hands before they hurt him or roamed him, whichever happened first. He was about to get up and leave, but something grabbed his wrist. Sasori looked at Deidara and stayed knelt against the tub. He saw uncertainty and a pleading look in the sculptor's eyes. He caught the silent plea and nodded, seating himself. Deidara let go and returned his sight to the tainted water.

The puppeteer knew that Deidara had to get clean, but he didn't think he had to take things into his own hands. Deidara looked so lost. Sasori shed his Akatsuki cloak and set it on the counter next to the towel. He returned to the bathtub and saw the blond blushing furiously. Sasori noticed his uneasiness. He brought his hand up to touch Deidara's cheek and said artist looked at him. "I won't harm you. I won't molest you. And I certainly won't rape you. Understand?" he asked. Deidara relaxed a bit at his words and nodded. "Keep your eyes on me when the time comes," he said sternly. Deidara nodded. He wanted the explosives artist to watch him so he wouldn't freak out.

Sasori grabbed the shampoo while Deidara wet his hair. After he was done, he turned his back to Sasori, showing he was ready. Sasori started to lather up the shampoo and he proceeded to wash the blond's hair. He ran his fingers through Deidara's hair, working the solution into his scalp. Deidara closed his eyes and the good feeling seemed to have escalated to the point of him almost moaning. Sasori worked his fingers through the blond tresses, massaging his scalp with the gentlest of touch.

Seeing that it was thoroughly washed, Sasori stopped. Deidara whined in disappointment and the Akasuna had to bite his lip to prevent himself from laughing. The blond turned to Sasori with those adorable puppy dog eyes. The puppeteer sighed and nodded. He got the hint. Deidara didn't want him to stop. Said blond smiled gratefully at him and Sasori twirled his finger in the air in front of him, telling him to turn back around. Deidara followed his directions and Sasori smirked before running his fingers through the blond hair again. He concentrated on massaging his scalp, easing his head. Deidara sighed contently. Sasori rolled his eyes. The blond was so easy to please.

Deidara took in the sensations that Sasori's fingers on his scalp brought. He was so calm right now. Not a care in the world for the time being. Sasori was his anti-drug, for lack of a better word. Deidara figured it useless to try to hold in the sensation, so he let out a small moan. What he didn't know was that Sasori was fighting the undying urge to take him right there. Deidara sighed again as Sasori removed his hands from his hair. "Sasori-danna?" he asked quietly, rinsing out his hair.

Sasori started to rinse his hands off. "What, Dei?" he asked, not really aggravated, but rather, having issues. Thank any god out there that he was hid by the tub wall. That one sound emitted from Deidara was enough to turn him on. As if touching him so intimately didn't do the job by itself, he had Deidara moaning shamelessly. Sasori cursed his luck and hormones. Both were working against him. Here he was trying to be the good friend and help his just-raped friend out by easing his tensions, and all he could think about was doing the exact same thing to him. Sasori felt disgusted with himself. Thankfully, Deidara didn't notice.

Deidara turned to face Sasori once he was done with his rinsing. "Um...am I a burden to you, un?" he asked quietly, keeping his eyes off of Sasori. Sasori tilted his head in confusion. All movement ceased from the puppet master. "I-I mean...am I troubling you now, yeah?" he asked, clarifying himself.

Sasori smirked and took the blond into his arms, pulling him against his chest, arms wrapped around Deidara's shoulders. "You are not a burden, Dei. Don't think that," he said softly. Deidara smiled and nodded as he returned the quick embrace. Sasori pulled away from Deidara and smirked. "Stand up," he ordered. Deidara raised a brow, his hair falling over his left eye again. He followed Sasori's orders and stood up weakly. He had to grab onto the Akasuna to steady himself.

Sasori held him steady while he bent down to drain some of the water in the tub. This wasn't going to be the easy part. He grabbed the soap and looked from it in his hand to Deidara's face. Deidara had a blush on his face, redder than Sasori's hair. Sasori thought it to be attractive. "You think you can wash yourself?" he asked quietly, averting his glance to the floor. "I...don't want to scare you," he said, trying to sympathize with the blond. He'd be just as bad as Orochimaru if he were to wash Deidara. His hands roaming the Iwa-born's body, sliding in and out of sensitive areas, drawing out pleasurable sounds-

Deidara blushed as he looked at Sasori. "You...won't scare me, un..." he said honestly. As long as he saw Sasori was the one touching him, everything would be alright. The red head's vision snapped back up at Deidara. Did he hear that correctly? He must have, seeing that Deidara was redder than a strawberry. The sculptor glanced at the puppet master shyly and Sasori nodded.

Deidara brightened up a little, seeing that Sasori didn't object. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want Sasori to touch him intimately like this. The Suna-nin started to coat his hands thoroughly with soap, not once taking his eyes off of them. Thoughts were racing through his mind right now. Why? This was going to be difficult for the Suna-born. He wanted to touch Deidara. But the question was: did he have enough restraint not to take it to the next level? Deidara trusted him. So...Sasori decided he did have enough restraint. He would behave himself. Hopefully.

With that thought in mind, Sasori set the soap aside. He reminded himself that this was an innocent bath as he started to run his hands over Deidara's shoulders. Deidara kept his eyes on Sasori and noticed he was way too tense. He grabbed the red head's wrists before he could continue further. Sasori looked at him. "You're nervous, un," he pointed out. Sasori faltered for a moment. Deidara smiled and stepped closer to his danna. "You don't have to, if you don't want to, danna," he said quietly.

Sasori smirked and continued to run his hands over Deidara's body. "Who says I don't want to?" he countered, earning another blush from Deidara. Sasori spun the blond around, back facing him, and continued to work his hands over his shoulders. It went from caressing, to massaging sensually. And thus Sasori continued his massage. He stepped closer to Deidara and continued to work the Iwa-born's muscles. The blond shivered a little. He let his head droop forward as he enjoyed the sensation. He let a moan escape again as Sasori got to the junction of his neck and shoulders. The red head smirked. It was too easy to please Deidara.

He moved on from his shoulders to down his arms. He washed Deidara's back, earning a shudder of delight from his partner. Sasori smirked and continued onward, running his hands over his partner's hips. He trailed his hands over them, dragging his hands to the front of his body. He trailed from Deidara's hips, up his navel, traveling upward to his abs and chest. Sasori's chest was pressing against Deidara's back, not caring at the moment that he was getting soapy and wet. He ran his hands over Deidara's nipples, not even noticing until he moaned quietly. Sasori grinned and dragged his hands lower again. He traced Deidara's chest again, purposely brushing his fingers against the blond's nipples, and down to his stomach. He then ran them down lower and paused just above the sculptor's member.

Deidara's breath quickened, Sasori noticed, and said red head stayed there for a moment, silently asking permission. Deidara turned in his arms and looked at him shyly. Sasori stared at the blond stoically. The Iwa-born timidly and hesitantly pressed his lips against Sasori's. The red head blinked before kissing him back. The Iwa-nin turned to fully face him, Sasori's hands slipping into the small of his back, pulling him closer to him possessively. Deidara slid his hands down Sasori's chest and to his pants. The marionette broke the kiss to look at Deidara. Said blond had a blush on his face with a dazed and pleading smile. Sasori stared for a minute and shook his head. He removed Deidara's hands from his pants and held them in his own. "Dei...you're not thinking right," he said seriously.

Deidara looked at Sasori and shook his head with a smile. "No, un. I am thinking right, yeah. I've wanted-"

Sasori kissed him chastely and looked at the blushing blond, devoid of emotions. "Deidara, wait. I promise once you're healed...we'll do whatever you want. But until then...don't expect anything more from me than this," he said, holding Deidara's hands and kissing him lightly again.

Deidara understood. He was proud that Sasori thought enough about him to not take advantage, but at the same time, he wanted it bad. Even if it wasn't full blown sex, Deidara needed release. Sasori felt said blond's issue on his leg and looked at him, seeing a brighter blush and a shy look. He was ashamed? Sasori grinned and kissed the aroused Iwa-nin, reaching between them to grab hold of his partner. He started to stroke him gently and Deidara moaned in Sasori's mouth. The red head stopped stroking and broke the kiss for a minute. "Bath. Now," he ordered.

"But, danna-"

"No, brat. Get in the bath," he ground out, pushing him into the bath gently. Deidara sat down and pouted. Sasori smirked. He still didn't get it. And that was fine. Sasori joined him on his knees, still wearing his pants. He was on his hands and knees, kissing Deidara, hovering above him. His knees were in between Deidara's spread legs and Sasori leaned on his left hand for support, stroking his member with the right, kissing the blond. Deidara was reclined against the back of the tub, taking in the pleasure. He moaned into his danna's mouth and arched as he felt the pressure building. Deidara wrapped his arms around Sasori's neck lovingly and pulled him closer.

Sasori continued to stroke his partner, slowly increasing his pace. His tongue forced its way into Deidara's mouth as he stroked faster. The sculptor moaned and arched further into Sasori's touch. He took great joy in Deidara's moans and pants. Said red head broke the kiss to kiss and nip at Deidara's now soap-free shoulder. He laid a delicate kiss on his neck and started to suck it softly, adding to Deidara's pleasure. "Danna...un!" he moaned, feeling his release swiftly approaching.

Sasori started to increase the pace, kissing his way back up the aroused blond's neck and jawline, and finally back to his lips. Sasori nipped at his bottom lip and the blond automatically opened for his danna. Sasori ran his thumb over the blond's slit and Deidara bucked beneath him. The Akasuna then started to move faster, feeling Deidara's muscles contract, signaling he was near release. "Dei..." he whispered softly into the man's neck. "Moan for me," he beckoned. Moan he did. Deidara's breathing became strangled as he felt his release a few seconds away.

The Iwa-nin never felt such pleasure before. It didn't even feel this good when he did this to himself. Yet, somehow, Sasori made things ten times better. As soon as Sasori nipped at Deidara's ear, that was it. Deidara released, arching higher into Sasori, with a loud cry. "Danna!" Sasori continued to pump Deidara, slowing in pace, extracting all the liquid he could. The blond shuddered as he felt the last remnants of his orgasm passing. His hold on Sasori's neck had tightened when he came. Realizing this, he let up a little.

Sasori pulled back a little to look at his flustered blond partner. A grin adorned the puppet's beautiful features. Deidara tried to regain his breath as he stared into his danna's reddish-brown eyes. Sasori stared down at the panting man, releasing his cock and sliding his hand up Deidara's ribs to the small of his back. "Dei," he whispered. Said blond focused on Sasori, his breathing now even. "So beautiful," he whispered before kissing him softly. Deidara moaned quietly and relaxed in his danna's arms. The marionette pulled away and sat up in the now soiled water. Deidara was helped up by his danna. They proceeded to dry off, another agonizing task for the Akasuna.

Sasori started to dry off his lover's body with a light blue towel. Deidara watched intently, still trying to wrap his mind around the mind-blowing moment the two shared. When Sasori came back up to face Deidara, the blond smiled for him, earning him a smirk in return. Sasori wrapped the towel around the blond's back and pulled him into him, staring into his cerulean eye. "Aishiteru, brat," he whispered before claiming his lips with his own.

Deidara felt at ease once again thanks to his Sasori-danna.

* * *

**TBC**


	10. Progression, Nightmares, and Happenings

A/N: Alright...that was a little snippit at a lemon...guess that was a lime or citrusy or something. Dunno. Point is, Sasori and Deidara did something! squeals o.o ahem Anyways...a full blown lemon is coming up next chapter. Not this one cuz I don't want to be known as a nymphomaniac XD But I must admit...this chapter is full of lots of fluff...sorry for those who don't like it. But some stuff happens. Poor Sasori XD Anyways...enjoy

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted **

_Chapter 10: Progression, Nightmares, and Happenings _

* * *

Sasori led Deidara into his room, holding him close. Their relationship has no doubt progressed and was almost fully in bloom. As he laid his partner, and new lover, in his bed, Sasori watched him get settled. The Suna-born had told Deidara that he would be sleeping with him in Sasori's room until he was healed. At that, the blond's face lit up. Sasori truly loved the brief moments his partner smiled genuinely for him. It pained him to see the fake smiles. The ones that he put on to mask his pain. While he was on the subject, Sasori decided to bring it up and how much it bothered him. "Dei?" he whispered softly.

Deidara looked at Sasori after settling into the covers. "What is it, danna, un?" he asked, sitting up slightly. He leaned on his elbow, blanket falling to his ribs to reveal the athletic chest.

Sasori looked at him and moved closer to him, sitting his chair in front of the bed. "We need to talk." At those words, Deidara's eyes widened. Fear immediately replaced the happiness and love. Sasori noticed this and put his hand up. "No, I'm not dropping you, Dei," he said, getting that out of the way right now. Deidara seemed to ease up a little. He nodded and Sasori continued. The blond snuggled back under the covers like a little kid awaiting his parents to read him a bed time story. His blue eye shone in the darkness. Sasori looked at Deidara. "Tell me," he began. "Why do you put on fake smiles all the time?" he asked.

Deidara grew silent and slightly uncomfortable. It was a while before he answered. "I don't want people to worry about me, un. Especially not you, danna," he said, looking Sasori in the eye. Sasori listened intently. "Does it bother you, un?" he asked in a tiny voice.

Sasori leaned forward and crossed his arms on the bed. "Yes, Deidara. It does. When you do that, I can't _help_ but worry," he answered monotonously. Deidara smiled at his danna and waited for the rest that was sure to come, seeing as how Sasori left that sentence hanging. "You're constantly doing it. I'd rather you not smile at all than put on a false one," he finished, looking at Deidara with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

Deidara nodded and smiled sadly at his danna. "Alright, danna. I won't do it anymore, yeah," he said with a real smile. Sasori nodded reluctantly and went to get up. "Danna?" he asked quietly. Sasori stopped and looked over his shoulder at his blond partner. "Thank you, un," he said with a tiny, loving smile. The marionette nodded and went over to his desk. He was about to sit down, but decided against it. He didn't feel like working right now. Especially since his partner was raped by his ex-partner. What a day...

Instead, he got up and went over to the bed, slipping in the opposite side of Deidara. He got under the covers, after discarding his Akatsuki cloak, and laid on his side, twirling some of Deidara's blond hair between his fingers. The Iwa-born turned to Sasori and the blond hair slipped from the red head's fingers. "Danna?" he asked quietly. Sasori remained silent, looking at Deidara in the dark. "In return for no more false smiles, un," he started. Sasori smirked at where this was going. He knew the blond all too well. "Could you...could you smile more often, un?" he asked innocently.

Sasori thought about it for a minute. There really was nothing for him to smile about. And he certainly wasn't going to put on a false one. He had nothing to smile about. Until Deidara became his. Sasori smiled honestly at his blond partner. "I'll think about it, Deidara," he said, hinting that he was smiling already. Deidara nodded and cuddled closer to Sasori. They whispered their good nights and fell asleep in each other's embrace.

* * *

Sasori awoke sometime before his partner, seeing the blond squirming violently in his sleep. No doubt he was having another nightmare. Sasori sat up and pulled the blond into his lap, resting his head on the puppeteer's thigh. He softly pet his hair and Deidara grabbed hold of Sasori's pants. He whimpered quietly and the Akasuna quietly shushed him. He kept petting his hair and Deidara started to calm down.

Sasori was relieved for a moment. His eyes flashed dangerously out the window. Orochimaru would pay for what he did to Deidara. Sasori was brought out of his murderous thoughts by Deidara calling his name in his sleep. "Sasori-danna!" he whined.

Sasori looked down at him and bent down to the blond's ear. He whispered gently to him. "I'm here, Dei," he told him quietly, stroking the sculptor's hair again.

Deidara's eyes watered in his sleep. Sasori watched the tears flow silently down his cheeks. He felt horrible. There was nothing he could do. Nothing he did or said could put the blond at ease. "Danna," he whined again. Sasori shushed him and kissed his temple softly. Deidara's grip tightened on his pants and he buried his face into the Akasuna's leg. He started to cry in his sleep. Sasori felt his heart break in two. He quickly scooped Deidara up in his arms and held him, rocking him slowly back and forth. Deidara seemed to calm down and rest his head on Sasori's collarbone. "Danna," he whispered before slipping back into a somewhat calm sleep.

Sasori held the blond gently in his arms and kept stroking his hair. _'I'm so sorry, Dei...'_ he thought regretfully to himself as he looked at the pained expression of his partner. He kissed Deidara's forehead and leaned his cheek against him, sighing lightly. And he said Deidara was too attached...

Sasori shook his head and allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be partners. Nothing more, nothing less. So much for that happening. Sasori and Deidara had fallen in love with each other. Feelings couldn't be reversed. Sasori looked down at Deidara's peaceful face and decided it was all worth it.

Deidara began to stir. He woke up and saw that Sasori was cradling him in his lap. He looked up at his danna and smiled. No words were said between the two. Deidara just threw his arms around his danna's neck. Sasori returned the embrace lovingly. He ran his hands up Deidara's back and into his golden locks. The Iwa native smiled and felt that he was healed. He felt better. He felt a little tired, but that was to be expected after repetitive nightmares. Sasori pulled away from Deidara and looked at him. His eyes were shining again. Sasori grinned. "Sleep well, brat?" he teased.

Deidara's face dropped into a sad smile. He shook his head and Sasori mentally kicked himself. Of course he hadn't slept well. He had been crying, whimpering, thrashing, and whining. "It was alright, un," he said, trying not to let on that he was lying.

Sasori stared at him flatly. "Don't lie to me, brat." Deidara sighed and leaned against his danna again. The Akasuna sighed and held him close. "You were crying in your sleep, muttering my name, and whining. Don't lie to me, Deidara," he said quietly.

Deidara nodded and closed his eyes. "Orochimaru, un," he said simply. Sasori nodded and tightened his arms around the blond securely, telling him he didn't have to continue. Deidara rested against the puppet master comfortably. "I couldn't get to you, un," he said quietly. Sasori looked down at his blond partner. Deidara looked so upset. Like he was on the brink of tears again. The red head kissed his forehead. "You tried to get to me and I tried to get to you...but-"

Sasori kissed the blond's lips softly. Deidara relaxed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around the Suna native's neck. The red head pulled away, not delving deeper into the kiss like he wanted to. He kept his forehead against Deidara's as he spoke and looked into the cerulean orbs that were his partner's eyes. "I'll always be here for you," he said simply. That one statement flooded Deidara's mind with promises and meanings. He would always be there for him. The sculptor smiled and hugged Sasori tightly. "You need to eat," the puppeteer said, pulling away a little to look at the blond. Deidara nodded. Sasori picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. The Akasuna sat Deidara down on the chair and went on a search for what the blond would want. "What do you want?" he asked, glancing back at Deidara, not finding anything.

The blond wore a warm smile on his face. He stood and walked over to Sasori, wrapping his arms around the marionette's waist. He rested his cheek on Sasori's chest and smiled. "Anything is fine, un," he whispered.

Sasori let his arms hold Deidara loosely, clasping his fingers behind the blond's back. He leaned against the counter and rested his cheek on the blond's head. The Suna-nin closed his eyes and just stood there. He wanted Deidara to eat, but he also wanted to comfort him. He was torn. "I can't fix anything with you holding onto me, brat," he said quietly, not making a move to let go either.

Deidara nuzzled his cheek against Sasori's chest with a content sigh. "Then I won't eat yet, yeah," he said with a small laugh. Sasori sighed and rolled his eyes. "Danna?" he said quietly. Said puppet remained silent. "Orochimaru, when he was here, said some things, un," he said sadly.

Sasori looked down at his lover at this. "What things?" he asked, now intrigued as to what the vile man had said.

Deidara hesitated. "He said that you only said you loved me to shut me up, un. That you say alot of things you don't mean, yeah," he said, looking up at Sasori sadly. The marionette's, normally fluid, calming, warm eyes grew wild with anger and hatred. Deidara shook his head and gripped Sasori's hips lightly. "But," he continued. Sasori calmed down a little. "But, I didn't believe him, un," he said happily. It wasn't a full blown lie. Just a half a one. "I thought for a few minutes while he was talking, yeah. I remembered that you always told me the truth. That you always said what was on your mind, even if I didn't like it, un," he said with a smile.

Sasori smiled as well and he moved the hair from Deidara's left eye. He tucked it behind his ear and Deidara smiled. Said blond felt Sasori cup his cheek softly and rub his thumb over the sensitive skin affectionately. It still had bruising, but Sasori thought Deidara was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Sasori leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lover's lips. The blond pulled himself closer, pressing their bodies flush against each other.

Deidara ran his tongue over Sasori's lips hesitantly and Sasori opened for him, allowing the blond to explore familiar territory. Their tongues found each other and a battle for dominance began. Of course, Sasori won, but it wasn't about dominance now. The puppet master pulled Deidara closer and allowed his fingers to entangle themselves in the blond hair. The sculptor moaned quietly and Sasori smirked. The kiss ended due to lack of air and the puppeteer looked at his blond's face. It was tinted with a bright pink and his lips were bruised. Sasori leaned their foreheads together. Deidara allowed his hands to trace Sasori's sides as he smiled warmly at his lover. The red head shuddered and separated their foreheads, placing one last kiss on his forehead, before turning around to the cabinets.

Deidara caught the hint and sat back down on the stool, not wanting to get in the way. He idly played with his clay and formed a tiny Sasori. He set it on the counter top and stared at it warmly.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sasori sat a plate in front of a snoozing Deidara. Sasori smirked at the clay sculpture of himself. He blinked as an idea hit him and used his chakra strings to manipulate it. The replica walked over to Deidara and kissed his nose. The blond's eyes fluttered open and he saw the sculpture by his face. He sat up, Sasori being behind him, and gently picked the sculpture up, staring at it intently.

Sasori saw this and continued to manipulate it with his chakra strings. The figure soon danced in Deidara's hand and the sculptor chuckled a bit. "Danna, un," he whispered, still a little sleepy. An arm wrapped around Deidara while the figure danced, still being manipulated by Sasori. Deidara smiled like a child and turned his sight away from the figure.

Sasori concentrated on the figure and then he glanced at Deidara. He smirked and let his chakra strings go, allowing the figure to stop moving in the blond's palm. "Food's ready, brat," he said, letting go of Deidara to go over to his own seat where rice and a glass of tea sat.

The blond artist stretched and looked down at the plate in front of him. Dango, rice, and tea. Deidara's eyes lit up as he eagerly started to eat. "Thanks, danna, un!" he said in between mouths of food. Sasori nodded and started to quietly eat his rice, knowing he wouldn't eat all that much. Just enough to sustain his human organs. Deidara watched his danna keenly. He started to eat his dango, rolling his eye upward in thought.

Sasori didn't fail to notice Deidara eating the dango rather provocatively. He felt his face flush. He tried to tear away from the sight, but couldn't help but focus on the blond's pink tongue slipping out to lick the round dumpling-like substance. Sasori's eyes widened a little as he imagined what that tongue could be doing to his-

"Danna?" Deidara called cautiously. Sasori jumped a little. The Iwa-born's eyes were wide. "Danna? Are you alright, un?" he asked. The puppeteer remained silent and focused on eating again. Hopefully he wouldn't choke. Deidara watched his danna for a bit and decided it must be stress. Why else would Sasori be staring intently at him and jump when his name was called? Surely his danna wasn't thinking anything else. Deidara returned to eating his dango, loving his danna's homemade food.

Sasori's eyes drifted back to Deidara and saw the blond innocently take the skewered ball into his mouth. The red head blinked away his thoughts and finished his rice quickly, keeping his eyes closed the whole time. He heard a squeak and turned his head to look at Deidara. He had his finger in his mouth, sucking it lightly. Sasori had enough. That sight alone was a major turn on, even though Deidara probably just poked himself with the sharp end of the stick. He stood abruptly and put his dishes into the sink. He then proceeded to go to his room. He slammed the door and sat on his bed, rubbing his temples with frustration, again, out of habit. He sighed heavily. _'What the hell was that just now?'_ he scolded himself. Another voice popped in his head. _'Admit it. You thought dirty thoughts about him doing that to you,'_ it chimed. Sasori scoffed audibly and glared at the floor. _'That was uncalled for,'_ the puppet master growled back at the voice.

* * *

A knock came at the door a few minutes later. Sasori, still not calmed down from his apparent arousal at his partner innocently eating his food, got up rather angrily. He slammed the door open and saw the blond standing there still eating his last dango stick. Sasori was either a pervert, or easily aroused. He hoped neither were correct. "Are you alright, danna?" Deidara asked cautiously. "You seem troubled, un," he said, licking the last dango on the stick.

Sasori had to rip his eyes away from his partner. "I'm fine, brat," he ground out irritably. He glanced at Deidara and saw him plop the last dango into his mouth, chewing on the stick.

The blond looked up at him with his puppy eyes and Sasori almost lost it. "I'm just worried, yeah," he said in a tiny voice. "Are you mad, un?" he asked in a tinier voice, seeming to shrink away a little. Sasori sighed and let Deidara in his room. The sculptor threw the stick away and looked at the troubled red head sadly. Something was bothering his danna and he would find out what and how he could help.

Sasori sat on his bed, crossing his legs to hide his arousal. He wasn't embarrassed or anything, he just didn't want Deidara to see what happened. Deidara sat next to Sasori and waited for him to explain. "It's nothing, brat," he said, looking out the window.

Deidara raised a brow. Seeing that Sasori wasn't going to tell him, Deidara crawled into Sasori's lap, startling the red head. The blond's face brightened with red as he felt his partner's arousal through his pants. He looked at Sasori and saw a frustrated look being sent his way. The bomber lowered his head with a smile. "Oh..." he said in another tiny voice. This one held amusement, however.

Sasori sighed and kept his arms crossed for fear of molesting the blond. That's just what he needed. To be another Orochimaru. As if the bath incident wasn't enough. "Yeah. _'Oh.'_ Now get out," the Akasuna sighed lowly. Deidara looked at him. He had a sad look on his face and the marionette snapped. "I'm not going to be another Orochimaru! Get out!" he growled higher this time.

Deidara's visible eye widened at such an outburst from his danna. He dropped the pout and blinked at his danna. Why would he think him another Orochimar- Oh. The terrorist blushed furiously and played idly with his danna's red hair. Sasori was still rather irate, but Deidara saw that this was calming his temper. Just a little. It wasn't helping other things, however. The Iwa man smiled sincerely at his danna. "You'll never be another Orochimaru, un," he said, kissing his danna's lips softly. "You care for me too much to be that way, yeah," he said, throwing his arms around Sasori's neck.

And so...Sasori lost his composure.

* * *

**TBC**


	11. You Are Mine

A/N: Lemony goodness in this chapter Enjoy! Remember to leave me reviews, k? I really appreciate the reviews from my readers! It's a real pick-me-up! Not to mention motivation. On with the story! Ja ne!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted **

_Chapter 11: You are Mine

* * *

_Sasori looked at Deidara as he was held by him. Did the Iwa-nin even know what he was doing to him? Or did he know and just chose to torture him with his body? Sasori didn't know, but it was rather frustrating. He wanted so badly to touch the sculptor, but he knew that if he did, he would be no better than that vile snake-nin. The puppet master had to grip his arms to keep them crossed. Deidara kept hugging him, though, slightly breathing on the red head's neck. The warm breath was arousing. It did nothing to help Sasori's condition. Nonetheless, the Akasuna kept his hands to himself, not even embracing the blond back. "Brat, if you don't get out of here, you will not like what I do," he warned through clenched teeth. 

Deidara looked at his danna. He heard the dangerous tone he held. He was slightly curious. He basically told him that he wanted him to touch him. So, why would he leave? The terrorist smirked and kissed his danna's lips softly. He nibbled his bottom lip and felt Sasori clamp them together to prevent from giving in. Deidara smirked yet again at this. His danna had remarkable self control. Even aroused, he showed restraint. He truly was admirable. But it annoyed the bomber as well as amazed him.

Deidara brought his lips to Sasori's neck and started to nip with a slight moan as he ran his hands along his danna's chest. Sasori glared at the blond, eyes heavy with lust and need. Deidara bit his neck again and felt the Suna-born incline his head for better access. Deidara moved along his neck, trailing kisses, bites, nips, and suckles along the tender flesh. "Danna," the blond moaned into Sasori's neck. The puppeteer shivered. He loved the sound of Deidara's moans. It sounded even better when he moaned his name. But he wouldn't give in. He clamped his arms tighter, feeling the temptation rising. "Danna, un," the Iwa-born moaned again, grinding his hips lightly against Sasori's.

Sasori couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed the blond's hips roughly and steadied them. "Brat," the red head said with obvious trouble. "Stop," he ground out. Deidara looked at his danna with a grin. He kissed the puppet master's lips delicately, biting his lower lip again. The marionette groaned, trying desperately not to molest him and take him right there. It was damn hard, but he was resisting. His hands remained clamped to the blond's hips, but only by sheer will power.

Deidara felt Sasori's grip on his hips tighten and he arched into his danna. He moaned quietly as he bit his lover's lip again. "Danna," he moaned. "Please, un," he whined. Sasori felt his resistance slipping. His restraint, his will power, his well built indifferentiality, all of it was slipping. As Deidara moaned, it was all vanishing as if it never existed. And they weren't even naked yet! At the blond's begging word, Sasori slowly opened his mouth. Deidara wasted no time in plunging his tongue into his danna's mouth. He licked the roof of the red head's mouth, dragging it along slowly. His tongue found Sasori's and tapped it, sliding across it playfully, encouraging it to engage in the heated war of dominance. The puppeteer groaned and allowed his tongue to play with Deidara's. Said bomber moaned as Sasori's tongue whipped dangerously against his own. He felt the Akasuna's grip on his hips tighten yet again and ground his hips against the puppeteer's.

Sasori released another groan, much to Deidara's pleasure. The blond smirked and ran his hands through the scarlet hair, tugging on it gently. The Suna native shuddered and bit Deidara's lip. Said blond moaned again and Sasori's hands grew minds of their own. They moved from Deidara's hips to his back, rubbing upward as they went. One entangled itself in the blond hair, while the other removed the red tie that held the rest captive. His fingers curled in the blond tresses, fisting them in his hands. The blond released another moan. He leaned into Sasori and knocked them over on the Akasuna's back. Sasori broke the kiss to stare up at Deidara. "You're not going to stop, are you?" he asked monotonously, attempting to hold annoyance within that statement. He failed miserably.

Deidara smirked. "Nope," he said simply. Sasori looked thoughtful. He avoided Deidara's eyes and turned his head to the side. The terrorist leaned above his Suna lover and trapped his arms above Sasori's head. Said puppeteer glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Deidara was staring intently at him. "Danna is upset, yeah?" he asked quietly, fearing he had gone too far.

Sasori sighed and shook his head. "Not upset, brat," he said quietly. "I don't want to take advantage of you," he said monotonously again. Deidara looked at him curiously. Sasori sighed heavily. "I don't want to fuck you. There, I said it," he said with evident frustration.

Deidara blushed and got off of Sasori quickly. The marionette looked at him curiously. He almost whined at the loss of warmth. The blond was up and heading toward the door. Sasori sat up quickly. The explosives artist opened the door and stopped briefly. "Sorry, un," he whispered before leaving.

Sasori laid there and rethought those words. His eyes widened and he shot up off the bed after Deidara. He saw him in the living room area, curled up on the couch. His knees were pulled to his chest and his head was buried in his knees. Now that Sasori thought about it, he basically said he didn't want the blond. Or at least, that's how Deidara took it. It was true Sasori didn't want to fuck Deidara. He didn't want to have sex, either. He wanted to make love. He felt he had to explain this to Deidara, seeing that he didn't look for the alternate meaning and Sasori hadn't explained it clearly.

With that thought, he walked over to Deidara and seated himself next to the blond. Deidara looked up at him and instantly covered his face again. His hold on himself tightened and Sasori sighed quietly. He pushed himself on top of Deidara and straddled him, causing the blond to glare at him. Sasori kissed the blond softly. Said sculptor stared curiously at him. He had just rejected him and now he was kissing him? He was confused. The Suna-nin broke the kiss to look at Deidara. The look on his face was a serious one. "Let me explain," he said simply. Deidara remained silent, but gave a nod. Sasori smirked and continued. "When I said I didn't want to fuck you, that was the truth." Deidara's face fell. "But," Sasori added with a grin. "I didn't say anything about making love to you," he whispered into the blond's neck.

Deidara blushed and his eye widened. "D-danna-"

Sasori cut him off with a kiss to his lips. The blond artist relaxed and sighed contently into the kiss. He understood. He misunderstood the wording. He didn't analyze the true meaning behind the statement like he should have. Sasori clasped their hands by Deidara's head and licked his blond's lips eagerly. The explosives artist opened for him and moaned when their tongues met again. It was all intoxicating. It was pure ecstasy.

Sasori broke the kiss after a while, giving the blond air. He stared down at his blue eyed partner and held the stare while Deidara caught his breath. The Suna-nin unclasped a hand to run the back of it over the Iwa-born's cheek gently. The bomber leaned into his touch, closing his eyes contently. Sasori laid one more kiss on the Iwa-nin's lips before sitting up and getting off completely. Deidara whined at the loss. He saw Sasori walk off, a suggestive stare back at Deidara, willing him to follow. It all made sense. The bedroom awaited.

* * *

Sasori waited eagerly in his room for his hyperactive blond. As if on cue, Deidara walked through the door nervously. The Akasuna walked over to him and kissed his forehead. He tilted his head upward so Deidara was looking at him. The red head's face was serious. "I'm only going to ask you this once, Deidara," he said lowly. Said blond nodded. "And I want you to think about it before answering." The Iwa native nodded once again. Their eyes were locked as Sasori hesitated to ask the question they both knew was necessary. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked finally after a period of silence.

Deidara's blue eyes searched Sasori's brown ones as he thought over the answer. There really was nothing to reconsider. He loved Sasori more than anything. He truly wanted this. The question was, could his body handle it? Would he freak out again like before and think Sasori to be Orochimaru? The terrorist considered all these options before answering. Somehow, as he looked deeper into Sasori's eyes, the answer was clear. Deidara smiled as he looked at Sasori. "I'm sure, un," he said confidently. The red head flashed a smile and took the blond's hand in his. "Just one thing, yeah," he said quietly. Sasori stopped at the bed and sat down. Deidara sat in his lap and pointed his index fingers together innocently. "If I freak out, un...don't stop?" he asked hopefully.

Sasori contemplated that last question. He looked at Deidara and turned his face to look at him. Deidara's eyes met his own and the marionette smirked. "Not on your life, brat," he assured him. The hyperactive artist nodded and threw his arms around Sasori. He turned in the puppeteer's lap so he was straddling him. A light blush appeared on Deidara's cheeks as he sat there for a moment, hands on Sasori's shoulders, face inches away from his danna, and legs on either side of the Akasuna's hips. Sasori's hands were around Deidara's waist as he looked at the blond, searching for any uneasiness. When he found none, he decided to get things started.

Sasori claimed Deidara's lips with his own in a heated kiss. Said blond pulled the red headed puppeteer closer with his arms around his neck and leaned into him, falling on top of his danna. Sasori kept his hands busy, slipping up and down the blond's sides, and into his shirt. The sculptor shivered pleasurably, loving the feeling of Sasori's hands grabbing at his flesh. The Iwa-nin sighed in content. The puppet master ventured further and ran his hands around the front of Deidara's chest. He slid his tongue over Deidara's lips and said blond opened eagerly. Their tongues clashed in a heated war as they teased and nipped at each other hungrily. Sasori bit down on Deidara's lip softly and the Iwa-born moaned softly.

The Akasuna smirked and ran his hands higher to his partner's nipples. He tweaked them between his thumb and index finger, dragging a louder moan from the blond on top of him. Sasori broke the kiss to trail down to Deidara's neck. He bit it softly, making his lover arch with pleasure. Deidara got an idea and slid his hands from his Akasuna's shoulder. His fingertips lightly traced their way down his collarbone to Sasori's chest. He found the puppeteer's nipples and had his hand mouths suck and tease them. Sasori shuddered and moaned against the blond's neck. "You play dirty, Dei," the marionette whispered against the blond's pale skin.

Deidara grinned. "Fair is fair, danna," he whispered back as he kissed his danna's collarbone. His hand mouths bit down gently on Sasori's now hardened nubs, dragging a pleasured hiss and arch from the red head. Sasori bucked his hips against Deidara's eagerly. Their arousals slid against each other, causing both to moan. Deidara looked down at the puppet master. He slid his hands down to his danna's waistband and hooked his fingers in them, waiting for permission.

The Suna-nin sat up, knocking Deidara onto his back. He crawled on top of the blond and hooked his own fingers in the blond's pants. He smirked down at his lover and tugged at his pants. He removed them with ease. As soon as he tossed them aside, Sasori returned his vision to his blond artist. His eyes roamed the pale skin, taking in every dip and curve. The Iwa's body truly was remarkable. Sasori's eyes found Deidara's and he smirked at the shy look awaiting him. Sasori leaned down, covering Deidara's body with his own. He leaned on his elbows as he kissed the terrorist's neck softly. The bomber moaned silently, tilting his head to give his danna more access.

The Akasuna found the blond's swollen nubs, tweaking them again. His partner writhed beneath him eagerly. "So beautiful, Dei," he whispered. Said sculptor moaned in response. His arms darted up to lace his fingers in the red hair. The marionette kissed his way down his lover's neck to his collarbone, placing gentle bites and sucks every now and then. He kissed his way down Deidara's chest to his nipples. He replaced his fingers with his mouth.

"Danna," Deidara moaned, fingers still tangled in the red tresses of his danna. Sasori grunted, feeling the slight tug and constriction on his scalp. He switched nipples and teased the other with his fingers. Deidara felt the cold air hit his warm body and arched with a shudder. He tried to look at his danna but didn't make it far before his head flew back and another moan escaped his lips shamelessly.

Sasori smirked and released his blond lover's hardened nubs to lick and kiss his way back up to his neck. He stuck three fingers in front of his partner's face. Deidara stared curiously. Sasori gave a one word command: "Suck." The blond terrorist took the three digits into his mouth and went to work at coating them, though he knew not why. Sasori clenched his teeth, willing himself to wait. He teased Deidara's neck with his teeth as he waited for his fingers to be thoroughly coated.

The red head ground his hips into Deidara's impatiently. It was then that he realized his pants were still on. Deidara started to tug at his danna's pants eagerly. He wanted to see all of his red headed partner. Sasori helped his blond bomber remove them and they were tossed carelessly at the side of the bed. Akasuna Sasori removed his fingers from the blond's mouth and propped his legs on his, now bare, hips. His eyes locked with Deidara's. "Bare with me, Dei. This will hurt," he whispered. The blond nodded as he felt the wet digits trail to his backside.

Sasori inserted a first finger into the tight ring of muscle. He groaned softly at the warmth and tightness. He felt the blond resist and quickly kissed him. "Calm down," he whispered as he kissed him again. Deidara's breathing calmed down a bit and his body relaxed. His arms wrapped around the red head's neck securely. Another finger wiggled its way inside Deidara to join the first. Said blond whimpered in pain. Sasori broke the kiss to look at him. "It's alright...almost done," he said with love and lust mixed into one. Truth be told, he didn't know how much longer he could last. Sasori started to scissor the two fingers, preparing for the third.

"D-danna," Deidara whimpered. Sasori shushed him gently and kissed him softly.

"Concentrate on something else," he whispered. Deidara claimed Sasori's lips quickly. Sasori had to blink a few times to realize what was happening. His eyes started to close as he nibbled the blond's lip for entrance. The blond artist opened for him. Without waiting for Sasori, Deidara plunged his tongue in Sasori's mouth. Sasori's eyes snapped open at his lover's aggressiveness. Their tongues fought for dominance as the Suna-born thrust the third finger inside to join the other two. Deidara winced as he bit his danna's lower lip, dragging a low growl from the red head.

Sasori thrust his fingers in a few more times before fully removing them. He broke the kiss to look at Deidara. The blond had some of the Akasuna's blood dripping from the corner of his lips. He leaned forward and licked it off before pulling his partner into his lap. The marionette made Deidara straddle him as he wrapped his arms around his waist. They stared into each other's eyes as Deidara skittishly brought his arms up to Sasori's shoulders. The Akasuna placed a gentle kiss on the Iwa-nin's lips before nuzzling his nose to his neck. "Take it slow," he whispered as he placed Deidara's entrance over himself.

The blond artist nodded and started to slowly lower himself onto Sasori. He winced in pain and the puppeteer felt the constriction around him. He grunted quietly as his hold on Deidara's hips tightened. "Calm down..." he whispered as he kissed the blond's neck.

Deidara nodded and tried to steady his breathing. He lowered himself further and stopped again. His forehead met Sasori's shoulder as he gripped the red head's shoulders in his hands to ease the pain. Sasori ran his hands up and down the blond's hips, trying to soothe him the best he could. Deidara started to lower himself again and bit into his danna's shoulder roughly. Sasori moaned loudly as his grip tightened on his partner's hips. The red head was fully sheathed inside of the Iwa-born. "Danna," the Iwa native whispered into his shoulder.

"I'm not moving...until you're ready...take...your...time," he said back through clenched teeth, trying his best not to lose control as of yet. Deidara let himself get used to Sasori. He relaxed and finally started to move. He lifted up slowly and then back down, arms still tight around his danna's shoulders. His face was buried in the crook of the red head's neck. Sasori allowed his hands to run from his hips up his back. He lightly kissed his way down his neck to Deidara's shoulder.

Deidara continued to move on his danna. The pain was soon replaced with pleasure. His pace increased and he lolled his head back, releasing a moan. Sasori took in the sight and let his hands rest on the blond's shoulders. He allowed a moan to escape as well as he nipped at the blond's collarbone. Sasori kissed his lover's jugular and Deidara let out a breathy moan. He tilted his head to look at the Akasuna. His lips collided with Sasori's and Sasori gently started to lower Deidara onto his back.

The blond wrapped his legs around the marionette's hips as his back hit the bed. Sasori held the blond's face in his hands as he steadied himself to an easy position. "Don't hold back," he whispered as he looked down at him.

Deidara nodded and tried to steady his breathing. "You, too, yeah," he whispered back. Sasori nodded and he started a slow in and out motion. He pulled out to the head and thrust back in, dragging a moan from his blond lover. Deidara arched off the bed as his arms rested above his head, gripping the sheets and anything else he could get a hold of. Sasori let his hands clasp with Deidara's above his head. He leaned down and kissed him softly. The Iwa-nin moaned in the puppeteer's mouth. With a few more thrusts, Sasori found the blond's prostate. As he struck it, Deidara arched higher than before and tightened his hold on Sasori's hands.

The Suna-born's pace increased slowly with Deidara meeting his thrusts. He felt a tightness in the pit of his stomach as he moaned with his blond artist. He wouldn't release before Deidara. He unclasped his hand and allowed it to stroke Deidara's hardened member. The Iwa artist moaned louder and threw his head back pleasurably. His legs started to shake as he moaned one last time. "Danna!" he cried as he released, coating the both of them in his essence.

Feeling the blond's muscles constrict around him, Sasori thrust in a few more times before filling his blond lover to the core. He almost collapsed on top of him, but caught himself with his hands on either side of Deidara. Their breathing was fast. Their bodies covered in sweat. Sasori stared down at his exhausted blond terrorist and allowed a small smile to creep onto his lips. His arms started to shake, showing his exhaustion. It was his human body, after all. Deidara looked at him and saw his red hair hang in his face. He smiled back at him. He let his hand rub up and down Sasori's arms, relaxing them to the point where they gave out. He fell on top of Deidara and said blond let his hands rub his danna's back. "Is it always supposed to feel that good, un?" he asked quietly.

Sasori snickered and rolled off to the side, pulling out of Deidara. He pulled the blond into his arms and placed a gentle kiss on the blond's forehead. "We could find out?" he whispered suggestively, placing a loving kiss on his lips.

The blond chuckled weakly, joined by a tired laugh from Sasori. "When we wake up, yeah," he whispered back. Sasori nodded and wrapped his arms around him tighter. Silence passed over them. Deidara snuggled closer to his Akasuna lover and rested his head on his chest. "Danna?" he asked sleepily. Sasori let a small "hm" in response. "Don't ever leave me, un," he asked in a tiny voice.

Sasori looked at Deidara and smirked. He pulled him closer and kissed him again. "Never," he whispered, stroking his hair delicately. "You are mine," he whispered warmly into Deidara's ear.

Deidara smiled lovingly and snuggled into the warmth that was Sasori. "I like the sound of that, un." Sasori smirked. "I love you, un," he whispered, cuddling as close as he could.

Sasori smiled sleepily and let his arm wrap around him. "Love you too, brat," he whispered, falling asleep along with Deidara. Never again would Sasori let Orochimaru take what is his.

* * *

**TBC**


	12. An Epiphany and a Mission

A/N: Well well well...chapter 12 already...oi vey. XD And I'm writing stories on the side too! Go me. Multitasking rocks. Lol Anywho...another lemon in this chapter...Sasori and Deidara followed through with their little tryst XD Enjoy!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted **

_Chapter 12: An Epiphany and a Mission _

* * *

_Deidara ran through the streets, trying desperately to get away from his pursuer. He tripped on a rock and fell to the ground, face scraping the debris underneath him. It scratched and ripped at the delicate flesh on his cheek. He cried out in pain and tried desperately to get up. To no avail. He managed to get to his left foot. As soon as he went to stand completely, a sharp pain in his right foot dragged him back to the ground. He had sprained his ankle. He cursed his luck and looked behind him. He saw his pursuer reveal himself. The amber eyes shone maliciously in the darkness. The pale skin sickened him. That sadistic grin was enough to make him shudder with fear. That alone promised many torturous things for the young Iwa-nin. Things he didn't look forward to, nor would he ever. "G-Go away, un!" he said, desperate to get away from the man known as Orochimaru._

_Orochimaru just laughed evilly. "Why, Dei-chan. You weren't planning on escaping, now were you?" he grinned._

_Deidara stared in fear at the man. His blue eye shone with never-ending fear. Years of torturous violations. Years of dimly lit rooms. Years of sexual abuse. Years of rape. Years of fear. Years of no one caring for him the way he wanted them to. And mostly, years of no one even worrying or trying to rescue him. Deidara shook his head and curled up into a ball when Orochimaru raised his hand to get ready to hit him. He cried out in fear._

_When he saw that the hit never came, but instead a grunt was heard from the amber eyed man, Deidara peeked over his shoulder to see why not. He saw a flash of red hair fighting with the snake-nin. His eye widened. The red haired figure beat the amber eyed man to a pulp before Orochimaru retreated reluctantly. He then walked over to Deidara and extended a hand to the blond. Deidara shrunk back in fear. The red head then knelt in front of him and Deidara saw a warm smile on his face. A hand stretched out to touch his face. It tucked the stray blond hair behind his ear and gently cupped the blond's uninjured cheek in his hand. Deidara looked at the man. His brown eyes shone with concern and love. Deidara smiled warmly. "Sasori-danna," he whispered. "Thank you, un," he said, hugging the man around the neck._

Deidara awoke from his dream when his name was called. He blinked several times and looked around. His eyes landed on auburn eyes staring back at him warmly. He smiled. "Danna, un," he smiled, cuddling closer to the Suna-born. Sasori returned the embrace and stroked his hair softly.

Deidara started to nip at Sasori's collarbone, earning a shudder from the other. "Stop, brat," he whispered. The blond blinked and continued to nip at his danna's collarbone, scooting closer and closer until he was flush against him in every aspect. He felt Sasori's "problem" and dragged his own against it gently. The Akasuna shuddered and gripped the blond's shoulders. "I suppose you're ready for round two then," he stated. Deidara chuckled and kissed under Sasori's jaw. Said red head grinned and nudged the blond artist's head. He brought their lips together and Deidara moaned silently.

Their tongues met again and Deidara moaned, a little louder this time. Sasori dragged his hands from his partner's shoulders down his arms. They landed on the sculptor's rib cage, and the marionette caressed both sides lovingly. Deidara smiled and shuddered beneath his danna's soft touch. Sasori smirked and moved on to his lover's neck. He nipped it lightly, dragging his hands further down to the blond's hips. Deidara smiled and held his seme in his arms. He arched his back, inviting more contact. The Akasuna grunted and flipped the Iwa-born onto his back. He laid on top of him and Deidara looked up at him, challenging him to continue.

Sasori took the challenge and trailed his hand down to his blond artist's hardened cock. He gripped it in his hand, dragging a moan from his blond uke. He started an up and down momentum, earning shudders and moans from Deidara. He arched under his danna's touch. Sasori started to nip at Deidara's sensitive spot on his neck, all the while pumping his shaft at an agonizingly slow pace. The blond terrorist's nails dug into the puppet master's shoulders pleasurably. Sasori grunted, still being able to feel it. His pace increased and Deidara's grip tightened. "D-danna!" he moaned, arching into his danna's hand.

Sasori smirked and released Deidara from his grip. The blond whined displeasedly. He glared up at his danna. Sasori grinned. "Be quiet, brat," he said lowly. He flipped Deidara over onto his knees and said blond started to flip out. Sasori blinked, unaware that he sparked his partner's fear. He allowed Deidara to fall onto his side in a quivering mess. "No knees, huh?" he asked in an uninterested tone. Deidara just shook his head and kept his arms wrapped around himself pathetically. Sasori tilted the blond's face to look at him. "Calm down. It's alright. I'm not him," he comforted. Deidara smiled and nodded. The marionette saw the blond stop shaking eventually. He scratched his head and allowed his hand to rest on his hip as he sat on his knees. He looked down at Deidara, who looked so fuckable right now it wasn't even funny.

"Danna, un?" he said softly. Sasori looked at him and dropped his hand from his head. Deidara blushed and sat up, leaning his head against his red headed lover's chest. "Don't stop, un," he whispered, wrapping his arms around Sasori's waist.

Sasori blinked and looked at Deidara. He grinned and pulled the younger of the two into his lap. "What did I say last time?" he grinned.

Deidara smiled and recited his words. "_'Not on your life'_, un," he grinned.

Sasori nodded and gripped the blond's ass firmly. Deidara shivered, but allowed it. The Akasuna lifted him and impaled him onto his hardened cock. The young artist arched against the puppet master and threw his head back. A moan escaped his lips. It was a pained, yet pleasured, moan. Sasori liked it immensely. He allowed Deidara to adjust and moved his hands onto the blond's hips. He placed kisses along the Iwa-nin's neck and shoulder while he waited for his little uke to start moving.

The blond started to lift himself and thrust back down on top of Sasori. He moaned, angling so he hit his spot each time. Sasori grabbed hold of Deidara's cock and started to stroke it, the other hand placed firmly on the other's hip. The Iwa-born continued to ride Sasori, dropping his head onto the red head's shoulder, moaning his name. He wrapped his arms around his Akasuna and buried his face in the crook of his neck. Sasori's pace increased as he thrust upward into Deidara at the same time said blond came back down. The blond terrorist arched again and moaned louder. The red head allowed his thumb to smear the pre-cum over Deidara's head, dragging a strangled breathy moan from his partner. "So sensitive, Dei," teased the Akasuna.

Deidara moaned his agreement. He bit into Sasori's neck, nipping every so often at the tender flesh. Sasori moaned with approval. He continued to thrust upward as Deidara thrust down. The blond's breathing hitched a few times, showing he was close. Sasori increased his pumping on his lover's swollen member and bit into the blond's neck softly. His whole body quivered. Deidara's mouth latched onto Sasori's ear and the Akasuna's eyes squinted shut. A moan and an arch was received from the red head. With one final thrust, they came together. Sasori filled his blond lover, while Deidara coated them in his essence. They both stayed panting, embracing each other weakly.

A few minutes flew by and Deidara regained his composure. He slid off of Sasori with one last moan at the exit. He collapsed beside the red head on the bed. (ha. red...head...bed. XD I rhymed! XD oh. sorry. back to the story XD) Sasori blinked a few times as he came down off his orgasmic high. He looked at Deidara's flushed face and grinned. Deidara smirked back. They both helped each other out of bed and to the shower. They needed to get cleaned up. The others would be back any moment now.

* * *

Deidara and Sasori emerged from the shower and got dressed in their normal Akatsuki clothes, showing nothing happened. They would go back to their normal routine. Deidara would be a hyperactive brat. Sasori would be a controlling, temperamental asshole. Simple. At least...that would work if bite marks weren't visible on both of their bodies. And the fact that they were holding hands and grinning at each other. 

Nonetheless, they went into the living room. Sasori sat on the couch, Deidara in his lap. The door opened and closed as Deidara and Sasori nonchalantly read a book together. The next thing that was heard was: _CRASH!_ "What the bloody fucking hell!?"

The two lovers snickered lightly. Sasori's was short lived due to his upholding image though. He turned to look at the flustered silver haired man that succeeded in interrupting the silence. "What?" he asked monotonously. Deidara turned to look at him over his shoulder, still sitting in Sasori's lap. Sasori's arms were around the hyperactive blond holding a book in front of them.

Hidan stared at them and the rest of the Akatsuki came in, namely Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi, Pein, and Konan. Tobi was running around the yard like an idiot and Zetsu was out in the back yard "sunbathing." Itachi, Pein, and Konan seemed to be the only ones unaffected by their position. Either they were unaffected, or they chose not to care. It was common that Akastuki members hooked up with their partners. Hidan threw a fit though. "Why the fuck are you sitting like that? What the hell did you guys do? Fuck?" he asked, crossing his arms, staring at the both of them, demanding an answer. Pein and Konan had left to their room, seeing that they really didn't want to know their team mate's business. The rest all stood wanting an answer.

Deidara blushed madly and turned his head away from the others to look at Sasori. They both exchanged glances and the marionette looked back at Hidan monotonously. "We didn't _'fuck'_ Hidan," Sasori said simply. In all truths, they didn't. Sasori called it something different, as did Deidara.

Hidan raised a skeptical brow. "Uh huh. What the fuck ever."

Kisame blinked several times and caught on. "Hidan, I think you worded it wrong," he said, studying the way they were sitting and the way Sasori was looking at Deidara.

And then, suddenly, the whole Akatsuki, save Deidara and Sasori, had an epiphany. The term wasn't "fucking." It was "making-love." In other words, Hidan was partly right. Kakuzu rolled his eyes and went off to his room. He had a date with two people: money and his calculator. Kisame and Itachi disappeared into their room. Probably to do something that kept the others awake all night. Hidan followed Kakuzu into his room. He had a date with an unsuspecting money hungry bastard.

Deidara and Sasori exchanged glances. "That was interesting, un," Deidara sighed, resting his head on Sasori's shoulder.

Sasori nodded. "Yes. I find it amusing that Hidan freaks out when he's gay too," Sasori grinned, turning the page of his book.

Deidara laughed quietly, causing the red head to grin. "Danna?" he asked quietly. Sasori looked at him slowly. The normally hyperactive blond had a pensive look on his face. "Let's ask Leader-sama if we can go on a mission un," he suggested weakly, his face devoid of all emotions.

Sasori started to get a little worried. "What kind of mission?" he asked cautiously.

Deidara was silent for a minute before he looked at Sasori, dead in the eyes. His eyes glinted evilly. "I want to kill Orochimaru, un."

Sasori's eyes widened a little. This was the same Deidara that was capable of laughing happily, showing no other emotions but happiness. The same one that was screaming his name a while ago. And now...it was like he was possessed. Sasori, nonetheless, nodded. "We'll ask leader tonight," he said quietly. Deidara nodded and leaned his head back on Sasori. The puppeteer still couldn't shake that deadly look in his lover's eye. He never saw that before. Nor did he want to again.

* * *

**TBC**


	13. Hunt for Orochimaru Begins

A/N: Oh yes...fight scene coming up soon!!!! Oh yeah!! I love writing blood and gore. Mwhahahhaha! Speaking of which...seeing as how I absolutely love Sasori-danna...and seeing as how he DIES, I am writing a death fic Oh there will be blood. And the blood that will be shed will be none other than the pink haired menace bitch Sakura! Mwahahahah! Oh yes. There will be blood. Jashin will be happy. evil grin Oh I cannot wait. I'm more excited than I am near my birthday time! As for the fellow Sakura haters, please feel free to read it. It will be brutal torture, blood, gore, and lots and lots of revenge!!!!!! It's called Vengeance. Mwahahahhh!! ahem Anyways This chapter's kinda long...Back to the story! Ja ne!

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 13: The Hunt for Orochimaru Begins

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_

Just as Sasori promised, they sat with Leader after dinner and spoke with him of the mission to hunt and kill Orochimaru, via Deidara's request of course. Pein debated it for several hours. He didn't like the snake-nin, but he was a good member of the team. Too bad he up and left, which pissed off Pein even more to the point where he hated him and wanted him dead himself. Sasori and Deidara waited patiently in their room while Pein discussed the matter with his partner, Konan. They always discussed things together, even though Pein's words were final.

Sasori sat patiently; Deidara paced. The red head looked at Deidara and watched him intently. "Dei, sit down," he said monotonously. Deidara didn't listen. He kept pacing. "Deidara! Get your ass on the bed! You're wearing a hole in my floor!" he growled. Said blond jumped and looked at Sasori, then at the floor, then at Sasori again. He laughed nervously and sighed before sitting next to the Akasuna on the bed. He brought his legs up to cross them, his hands holding them cutely. The puppet master sighed and put an arm around his shoulders. He pulled him close so Deidara's head was resting on his shoulder. "Calm down. You'll get your mission," he said quietly.

Deidara nodded and sighed, relaxing. He could almost fall asleep like this, if not for the pesky worry and eagerness he had pent up at the moment. Then, as if Deidara's prayers were answered, the door clicked open, revealing Pein and Konan. Pein stood quietly for a minute, observing the two on the bed. He then nodded and proceeded to tell them his decision. "You will have a maximum of five days to find him and kill him. If that is not enough, too bad. We need you alive and ready for a mission, so don't die." Deidara and Sasori nodded. "I will supply your funds for whatever you need during those five days, but do not go overboard," he said, looking at Deidara. The blond nodded. "Don't go overboard with the killing either. This organization doesn't need to be publicly advertised. Try to make it as quiet and quick as possible. Is that understood?" he asked sternly. Deidara and Sasori nodded. Pein nodded and turned to leave. "Good. You set out tomorrow afternoon. Get some rest," he ordered as he and Konan left them alone.

Sasori looked at Deidara to see his reaction. Instead of seeing the happy "yay we're going, un," face he had half expected, he saw a dark and gloomy face that read "I'm going to kill that bastard, yeah." The red head shook his blond a little. The Iwa-nin looked up at Sasori and blinked a few times. His face held a sad look to it. "Danna..." he said quietly.

Sasori looked at Deidara and moved the hair from his face. He smirked and kissed his left cheek where Orochimaru inflicted the most damage. It was gone now, but he had still injured it. That's probably why Deidara hung his hair over that side of his face. That side was the one that took the most damage. The blond allowed his danna to kiss that side of his face. He wasn't as self-conscious anymore about it. Or rather, he wouldn't be after he killed the vile bastard that did it to him. The left side of the blond's face served as a small reminder of something. No matter how badly he was hurt, there was always going to be someone there to heal his cuts and scrapes with love and gentleness. That person was Sasori. The cuts and scrapes was his past with Orochimaru. Sasori healed Deidara's broken form and gave him new courage. It was the best thing the Iwa-nin could ever hope for. "Get some rest, brat," came the soft voice of his danna.

Deidara nodded and leaned against Sasori, wrapping his arms around his waist. His head rested in the marionette's lap as he fell asleep. The Akasuna ran his fingers through the blond hair gently, soothing the blond to a relaxed dream-like state.

* * *

The next morning, Deidara awoke rather early. Well, early for him, late for Sasori, as usual. The puppet was already up, seeing as how he didn't sleep. He looked at his blond, who had an air of sorrow and revenge about him today. It unnerved the puppet. He didn't show it, but it did. Sasori sat up and scratched his head. Today was the day that he and Deidara would search for Orochimaru and possibly kill him. The sculptor was eager to kill the bastard snake-nin. Oh, how he wanted revenge for all those torturous years. All those years he could have kept his innocence. Thanks to a certain snake-nin, however, that was rendered impossible.

"Danna, un?" called a certain blond Iwa-nin. Sasori snapped his head up to look at the sculptor. "You okay, un?" he asked, truly worried for his danna.

Sasori nodded. "Just worn out," he lied. He didn't want to voice his opinion on Deidara's current state of mind because that would mean arguments on the way. And that was not what the puppeteer wanted by any means whatsoever. Deidara looked skepticallly at the red head, but nodded anyways, not really wanting to anger him. The puppet master got out of bed and looked around. He gathered his scrolls carefully, making sure he had all the ones he needed. He stuck them in his cloak as he got inside Hiruko. He closed him up with his chakra strings and sighed from the inside.

Seeing that they were ready, after Deidara got food, of course, they set out. The search for Deidara's captor was on.

* * *

Hours flew by and Deidara became tired and exhausted. Sasori deemed it necessary to stop for the night. He soon set Hiruko against a tree and let himself out. He stood and popped his joints. They popped and instantly felt better. Though Sasori was in his normal fighting puppet body, he still got stiff joints. Go figure.

Deidara watched his danna with interest, albeit it was sleepy interest, but interest nonetheless. He leaned his back against the tree and sighed quietly. He looked up at the stars. They were his and Sasori's art combined. Eternal, yet short lived. With every dying star, there was a new one to take its place. This was something they could both agree on. The crisp night air blew through his blond hair, swirling it around his face. Sasori saw his partner and thought he looked like some angel that was a gift from the heavens. His pale skin shone in the moonlight as fireflies flew around. The blond held his hand out and one landed on his fingertip. He brought it close and just watched it with a peaceful smile.

Sasori couldn't help but be drawn to the blond. Without him even realizing it, his feet began to move of their own accord. As he walked, his eyes never left Deidara. The scene pulled him in almost like reeleing in a catch when fishing. And Sasori had been caught. The red head stopped in front of him and just stared quietly. The firefly flew away and Deidara's eyes found those of Sasori's. Hours seemed to have passed before any words were spoken. "Danna?" came a quiet voice.

Sasori snapped from his thoughts and what seemed like a trance. He looked around and then back down at Deidara. He didn't know how he had come to stand before the brat, but he wasn't complaining. He just sat next to him and crossed his legs, looking up at the stars. The call came again. Sasori looked to Deidara and blinked. He saw the worry and concern in that blue eye of his. The marionette couldn't help but smirk. He put his arm protectively around the blond and drew him between his legs. Deidara's head fell on his chest making the blond blush. Sasori kept his arms around Deidara's shoulders, resting his chin on top of his head. The blond closed his eyes and smiled. He brought a hand up to clutch his danna's cloak. The Akasuna looked down at his blond partner and saw that his breathing had leveled out, showing he was sleeping peacefully. "Sleep well...Deidara," he whispered into the wind.

* * *

The rustling and slight bobbing stirred the blond awake. His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his head. The first thing he noticed was the crimson hues in his face, tickling his cheek. He blinked a few times and noticed that it was Sasori's hair. The second thing the blond noticed was that his arms were around his lover's shoulders, his face buried in the red hair. The final thing he noticed was his legs were being held around the red head's waist by Sasori's arms under his thighs. Sasori was carrying him on his back. The Iwa-nin blushed as realization hit him in the face. If he were standing, he'd be knocked onto his ass. His danna was really carrying him. And not just the "you're completely useless so I'm just going to throw you over my shoulder" carry like he half expected.

"You're awake," Sasori said quietly, turning his head a little to look at Deidara's head on his shoulder. Said blond nodded. The marionette turned his head back to the path. "We had to get moving. I didn't want to wake you," he explained, answering the blond's unspoken question as to why he was being carried. "Leader only gave us a few days. We couldn't wait for you to wake up," he went on.

Deidara nodded and yawned quietly, burying his head into the crook of the red head's neck. "I understand, danna," he whispered, still groggy from sleep. It was a rather comfortable position. He didn't want to move yet. Sasori must have felt the same, too, because he didn't ask him to get down or just drop him on his ass.

Sasori was quiet for a while before he finally spoke up. "Let's get something to eat," he suggested, changing his course to the right a little. There was an out-of-the-way shop up ahead that Sasori and the others constantly passed by. It was surrounded by trees, giving it the perfect setting for a picnic of sorts. Deidara nodded.

A few minutes passed and they were at the stand. They got their food and decided to walk a little further before sitting under a cherry blossom tree. Deidara ate in silence while Sasori just stared off into space. He didn't need food. This was his fighting body, after all. If he were in his human body, he'd eat. "Danna?" Said red head turned his head to look at the blond. He looked a little uncomfortable and anxious. "Where do you think Orochimaru is, un?" he asked, popping another dango into his mouth thoughtfully. Sasori remained quiet for a moment. He honestly didn't know, but he had an idea. Deidara looked to be debating something. Finally, he spoke. "Danna?" he asked as he finished his second dango on the stick. The puppeteer gave him his full attention to see what he thought. After all, the blond was smart in matters such as these, when he wanted to be. "Do you think he's in the place he held me captive? Outside of Oto, yeah?" he asked as he stared at the sky.

Sasori followed suit and stared at the passing clouds. "He might be. We have to check. But keep in mind we only have a few more days. We have to move fast," he said stoically. Deidara nodded and finished his last dango. The puppet master just sat there thinking things over. _'If he truly is there, it's for a reason. He's certain that Dei can't handle it. He knows that the brat can't keep a clear mind. Heh. The bastard is smarter than I took him for,'_ he thought to himself. He glanced at Deidara and saw indifference in his face. This was him trying to hide his emotions again. Sasori shook his head. "Are you sure you can keep your sanity once we are there? He probably chose that spot for a reason, Dei," he said quietly, trying his best not to show his concern.

Deidara remained silent for a bit. He honestly didn't know. He would have to. Deidara shook his head and looked at Sasori seriously. "I have to, un. If I don't the same thing will happen regardless of if you're there or not, yeah," he said in a cold voice. The red head didn't recognize him for a minute. It was indeed rare for his blond lover to speak like that. He was dead serious. He would have to be. This was a grave situation. Sasori nodded. "Besides..." he continued, his head upturned to the sky with a sad smile. "I'm not alone anymore, yeah," he said.

Sasori grinned. He understood. Deidara found strength in his presence. He was assured that Sasori would not let anything horrible happen to him. The Iwa-nin felt safe. Safe with Sasori around. Alone when he wasn't. The Akasuna got up. He glared off in the direction of Oto. "Time to get going," he said simply.

Deidara nodded and got up. He started walking alongside Sasori quietly. The hour of truth was quickly approaching. And Deidara's revenge would be complete very soon. He could finally live a normal life. As normal as normal could be when you belonged to an S-rank criminal organization. That was pretty normal to Deidara, all things considered. His past wasn't exactly normal. His parents weren't exactly normal. He wasn't exactly normal. The blond was never, nor would he ever be, normal. And he was fine with that. As long as people accepted him. And one already did. And that was enough.

As they were walking, Deidara laced his fingers with Sasori's. The Akasuna looked at him for a moment then held his hand. Their pace quickened. The closer they got to Oto, the tighter Deidara's grip became on Sasori's hand. He couldn't feel pain, but he was sure he would if he were in his "human" puppet body instead of his fighting one.

* * *

Hours dragged on. The sun was high in the sky. It was probably two hours after noon. The forest was thick and provided no protection from the rays of the sun. Instead, black attracted the sun's rays and thus, heated the blond and red head. The red head didn't really feel it, but Deidara did. Still, he didn't complain. For, if he did, he knew Sasori would get frustrated. So, he just unbuttoned it a bit to let some air in. If he took it off, it would somehow prove as an inconvenience to him in the near future. Some trees looked beat up. Like it'd been slashed, gashed, and other kinds of abuse. The bark was off. The trunk was exposed. Markings were etched into them. Probably directions for Sound ninja or something. Deidara couldn't tell. It was too weather worn to read.

As they walked, Deidara took in all the details of the forest. After all, they were in Orochimaru's territory now. He had to be on guard. No doubt Orochimaru knew the terrain. That was to their disadvantage. So, the blond took it upon himself to memorize every crevice, sink, path, and hiding spot. Sasori was the most observant, though. He knew Deidara had been in this place before so there wasn't that much for him to memorize. It was like refreshing his memory. The Akasuna, however, had a lot of refreshing to do. It was rare that he and his ex-partner would come to Oto. Orochimaru always went alone. So, it wasn't like it was his home or anything.

They stopped when they heard a snap. In an instant, they were back to back, scanning the forest. The castle where he had been tortured was in sight. Deidara's sharp blue eyes darted around them, scanning anything and everything for an intruder. He heard a clank behind him. Sasori had deflected a kunai. As the blond's vision returned to his front, he saw a flash of light. The sun had reflected off of something. Two round objects. The Iwa born knew all about those two round objects. He had seen them so many times it made him sick.

Another kunai was aimed at Sasori and he deflected it again. A few shuriken were directed at the blond. He reflected the one aimed at the shoulder with ease. The next two, however, were much faster than he anticipated. He had two kunai handy as he relfected both, one into a tree trunk, the other into the ground. "That's enough, un! Show yourself!" he growled, his eye turning a steely blue with anger and hatred.

A laugh was heard and Sasori tilted his head to hear better. He recognized that annoying laugh. A figure clad in purple and white leaped from the hiding of the trees in front of Deidara. He stood. His long silvery hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck as the sun reflected off his glasses. Kabuto. "I would have imagined you to be short tempered as always, Dei-chan," he teased, his eyes showing through the glare of the glasses as he raised his head a bit.

Deidara clenched his fist, but stood still. He knew it was a lure. "Don't you dare call me that, un," he snarled. He hated that name more than anything. Orochimaru had been the only one, besides Kabuto, to call him that. He despised it with every fiber of his being.

Kabuto chuckled as he saw Sasori walk to his partner's side. His face still wore the emotionless mask as usual. It was all everyone was used to. "Where is Orochimaru?" he asked, his voice heavy with authority and dominance. He really was in no mood to joke around with the med-nin.

Kabuto grinned and shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? He comes and goes," he said whistfully with a sigh.

Sasori felt his patience slipping. He glared at Kabuto and opened his mouth. "Don't pull that, Kabuto. You know exactly where he is, un!" Deidara interrupted, glare in place. He knew the med-nin far more than Sasori did. After all, Kabuto was only a subordinate under the man that inflicted torturous memories on the blond.

Kabuto grinned and crossed his arms. "Even if I did know where he was, what makes you think I would tell _you_, Dei-chan?" he countered in his smooth, cool voice he always used.

Deidara clenched his teeth. His hand had long been at work with making a clay bird. He had slipped his hand into his pouch beneath his cloak after he deflected the other two shuriken. It was nearly completed and he couldn't wait to blow the bastard sky high. "Kabuto, tell us where he is. Now!" he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Kabuto's grin only increased. "Quite the temper as usual," he smiled. "And sorry. But if I did that, it'd be called treason. Do you know what Orochimaru's punishment is for treason, Dei-chan?" he asked. Deidara only glared. Sasori knew. "It's death. Either that, or if your body is useful to him, he will take control of your body. Neither are favorable to me. Do they sound favorable to you?" he mused.

Sasori glanced at Deidara and saw his hard expression. He was about to snap and do something stupid. It was then that he picked up on his chakra pulsing. He knew the blond was making one of his masterpieces. The puppeteer kept his eyes on Kabuto and uncrossed his arms. He stepped in front of his blond partner and saw him get ready to say something. "Deidara, don't complain. Go find Orochimaru. Check the castle. We don't have time for this," he said sternly, leaving no room for arguments.

Deidara glared at his danna. "No,un. This is my battle. Not yours," he said coldly. Sasori turned to him quickly, a kunai at his throat, his back to Kabuto. He knew the silver haired med-nin wasn't stupid enough to attack him yet. "Danna," he said with warning.

Sasori glared at him. He made sure the blond's eyes were on him. "Don't argue with me, Dei. I will stall him. You find Orochimaru. _That_ is your battle. Not him," he said referring to Kabuto. His voice was low, almost a whisper. His eyes softened a bit. "I'll be right behind you," he whispered before chastely kissing his Iwa lover.

Deidara's face softened as he reluctantly nodded. Sasori let the kunai drop. "Be careful, danna," he whispered before he ran off into the castle, searching for the traitorous snake-nin.

Once Deidara was out of sight, Sasori turned to Kabuto. His glare was back in place. Kabuto's face held amusement. "I see...so you two are lovers," he mused with a playful wink. The Akasuna's glare only became deadlier. Kabuto chuckled. "Do you know why Lord Orochimaru has taken an interest in Deidara?" he inquired.

"Is it because Orochimaru lost interest in you? Enlighten me," he ground out, already knowing the real answer. He just wanted to hear what Kabuto's view on the situation was.

Kabuto smirked and chuckled lightly. "No. He doesn't fight back. He's easily manipulated. Dei-chan is weak. Weaker than you or I. And you sent him off all alone," he mused. That was the reason. Sasori knew it. "His mind is weak. He has no mental stability. Especially after what happened in Iwa a few years back," he grinned. Sasori's eyes narrowed at the medical ninja. The subordinate's eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean he didn't tell you?" he asked with mock surprise.

The Akasuna just glared at him. Deidara wouldn't keep a secret from him...would he? They had shared damn near everything. Well, the blond had anyways. Sasori was a different story. He didn't talk that much. But still, Deidara would have told him. Unless he did and Sasori didn't remember. No. That wasn't right. The marionette listened to the blond's stories. A weakness, yes. But, he still did. He didn't recall anything about the blond saying what happened in Iwa or why he left. He just said bits and pieces. The red head took into consideration that it might have been a hard thing to talk about, but that was still no reason to keep secrets for so long. Sasori sighed. He would have to take it up with the Iwa native later. Once all this drama was taken care of.

Kabuto chuckled. "You're relationship with him is a fraud. If you can't even tell each other about your pasts, then it means nothing," Kabuto said with a proud smirk. Sasori glared at him. He was in no mood to discuss his relationship with the blond with this moron of a subordinate. He was already beyond pissed that Kabuto had insulted his lover. That was enough. "I guess I will tell you then," he grinned, crossing his arms.

Sasori summoned Hiruko from the scroll. He quickly crawled inside and shut the door. Inside the puppet, the puppet master was glaring and wishing his glare could kill right about now. The fight was about to begin. He didn't want to hear the blond's past from the silver haired ninja. He would hear it from Deidara. And when he was ready. He made Hiruko throw kunai and shuriken.

Kabuto dodged with ease. "What? Not in the mood to hear about your lover? Do you even really love him?" he mocked, landing on his feet.

Sasori felt his anger rising. He had to keep calm, however, due to the simple fact that if he lost his temper, the battle would already be lost to Kabuto. That was what he always told his blond partner. He took deep breaths and made Hiruko wait. Kabuto would attack eventually. Too bad his jutsu would be useless on a puppet.

* * *

Deidara sped through the halls of the castle, his kunai in hand as he ran. He rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. The door to where he was held captive all those years. That same miserably dark place. All that pain. The mental breakdowns that occurred in that place. It all rushed back at Deidara. He fell to his knees, holding his head. Small whimpers could be heard through the halls from the blond. The memories were too much for him. He now started to question whether he really was up to this or not. Sasori was right. He wasn't sure if his mentality was up for it. He didn't know if he could keep sane when faced with this task. The Iwa-nin felt alone and scared. It was all he could do to keep from crying out and curling up into a ball.

Then it hit him. He had some resistance. Sasori was there. He was with him. Sasori was the one that made him happy. Sasori was the one to heal his wounds. The one to heal his heart and make him able to love again. Sasori. His love. His partner. The red head truly cared for the blond. No fake smiles or misleading words. No lies or betrayal. Nothing. Only positive, caring warmth. The warmth the Iwa-nin had been searching for all his life.

With renewed strength, Deidara stood and grabbed his kunai. It was time. Time to get revenge for all the mental anguish the vile snake-nin caused him. It was time to kill him. So that he could be free. As long as Orochimaru was alive, Deidara could never be free from these awful feelings and memories. The blond found himself walking rather quickly to the door. His sudden eagerness would not help him in this battle. Instead, he need patience. He needed a clear mind. His hand rested on the knob of the door. He took in a deep breath before going inside.

He stood on guard as he looked around. His eyes landed on a shadow in the far right corner across the room. His eyes turned hard as he heard a familiar snicker. His vision narrowed, trying to adjust to the dimly lit room. All he was able to make out was a faint glowing from the shadow. This was the paleness of the skin. The other thing he could make out was amber eyes that shone ominously. "Orochimaru," Deidara ground out.

Orochimaru stepped from the shadows, wearing his trademark grin. "Dei-chan...I see you have returned to me," he said in his sickeningly sweet voice. Deidara suppressed a shudder. Orochimaru laughed sinisterly. "Come now...why so tense? Don't you like it in this room? I had it designed just for you," he continued in his smooth voice that he used to convince Kimimaro to join him. "The bed...the candles...it's all so romantic, no?" he grinned, taking steps closer to the blond with each word.

Deidara stepped back, kunai bared defensively. "You know damn well I hate this room, un," he ground out through ground teeth.

Orochimaru stopped and tilted his head. "Ah, but, Dei-chan," he replied sweetly. "I love it here. Where so much love was made," he grinned. Deidara found it extremely weird to hear Orochimaru refer to their little "torture sessions" as "love-making." It disturbed the blond immensely. "Do you know why I chose you?" he asked whistfully. Deidara kept his glare in place and his stance held strong. "It was because you were the perfect specimen. You are unique, Dei-chan. I told Kabuto that it was because you were weak-minded. That is not completely true. In fact, you are really quite stubborn. You put up a fight. I like that," he grinned, licking his lips.

Deidara glared at him. He had had enough of this annoying man. His sickening words and explanations did nothing for his stomach. It made him want to hurl. It irked him to no end that this man took pleaseure in his mental torture. The Iwa boy lunged at Orochimaru, ready to land a punch on that ugly face of his, and threw his kunai at him. The snake-nin dodged the kunai easily. He grabbed the blond's wrist and wrenched it back behind his back. Deidara fell to his knees and glared back at him, his hand on his right shoulder, trying to relieve the pain. The Iwa-nin flicked a small clay scultpure onto Orochimaru's forehead and put his fingers to his lips. "Katsu!" he said in a hushed whisper.

The sculpture exploded on Orochimaru's forehead and knocked them from each other. Deidara landed on his stomach, debris in his hair. He looked over his shoulder to see where Orochimaru was before getting up. He looked around and had his hand mouth working on the rest of the sculpture that was originally meant for Kabuto. This was going to be a battle to the death.

* * *

**TBC**


	14. Fight to the Death, Kabuto's Help

A/N: Hope I didn't piss too many people off last chapter. I know it was sort of repetitive. That's what I get for being hyper and typing and not being able to keep still XD Anyways...the fight is on in this chapter! Rather long chapter too...That was just the start of the fight in the last one. I hope you enjoy the fight! Pull up a chair, whip out that popcorn! Here comes the fight! Not to mention Sasori-danna's hot evilness! Mwahahahahaha!!! ahem When you come to a number in parenthesis, scroll all the way to the bottom past the "TBC" to see what exactly they are. Also, this chapter kind of jumps back and forth between Sasori's and Deidara's fights. If you have trouble keeping up, PM me and I will explain it to you. Ja ne!

* * *

**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted **

_Chapter 14: A Fight to the Death and Kabuto's Reluctant Assistance _

* * *

Sasori went to work at subduing Kabuto until he heard an explosion. _'Deidara,'_ he thought with alarm. He never knew if his partner's explosions were good or bad. But from his perspective, it certainly wasn't good. They never were. While Sasori was distracted, Kabuto took it upon himself to fling five shuriken and four kunai at Hiruko. Hiruko, following his master's orders, deflected them with his metal scorpion tail. The dull thuds of the weapons impaling the dirt was the only thing that was heard. Sasori returned his attention to Kabuto and glared through Hiruko. "You honestly didn't think you'd be able to hit me, did you?" Sasori asked with a bit of arrogance.

Kabuto merely grinned. He disappeared from sight and Sasori sighed in boredom. The medical ninja was too easy to predict. He would just let him wear down and the marionette would kill him. If Hiruko lasted that long. Sasori leaned his cheek on his fist, waiting for the four-eyed moron to attack. As if on cue, Hiruko's tail flew up to the right side. The Akasuna couldn't help but yawn at this. Too predictable.

What Sasori didn't predict, however, was that Kabuto was behind him setting an explosive tag onto Hiruko's back. It was only the slight thump that made Sasori aware of the subordinate's presence. The Akasuna's eyes widened. Kabuto leaped off and away to safety as the puppeteer was forced to abandon Hiruko. The puppet shattered to pieces from the tag, which turned out to be five tags. Sasori was thrown onto his stomach as he looked behind him. Hiruko lay in a heap of broken puppet parts. He looked on with regret and sadness. That was one of his favorite puppets...

* * *

Deidara was easily thrown against the wall by Orochimaru. His tongue was wrapped around the blond's slim waist and was manipulating him by swinging his head and whipping him into things. The Iwa-born was finally released upon the last impact. Deidara arched his back in pain. Blood spewed from the corner of his lip. He glared up at the snake-nin. What if Sasori was right? What if he really wasn't up to this? Too late now. All he could do was hold his own. If he were to die, he was going to do it his way. He was going to go out with a bang.

"What's wrong, Dei-chan? I thought you had more fight than this?" the snake-nin teased.

Deidara struggled to get to his feet, his fist still clenched while the hand mouth went to work at making his famous C4 creation. The blond finally made it to his feet and leaned his back against the wall. His lip was cut, his nose bled, his head was bleeding somewhere near the temple. He was a mess. That last attack really messed him up. He couldn't allow Orochimaru to get ahold of him like that again. If he did, it certainly would render Deidara useless.

The hand mouth opened and Deidara opened his fist in the concealment of his cloak sleeve. The mouth spit the creation onto the palm of the Iwa's hand. He quickly started to mold it into a sculpture. His eyes stayed focused on Orochimaru, searching for any signs of movement. He knew he was immortal. He knew a jutsu to reverse it. One he devised himself. He had worked on it many times since his escape. The only bad thing about it, was that he had to give up a third of his lifespan. This meant nothing to the blond. If he died, it was for a worthy cause. And Orochimaru would be dead. He would make sure of it tonight.

Deidara now clutched the C4 explosion in his right hand, a C2 in his left. He hid the C4 in his sleeve and threw the C2 at Orochimaru, detonating it on impact. While Orochimaru was distracted, Deidara started the jutsu to remove the snake-nin's immortality. He had to act fast. If he didn't it would have been for nothing.

The gods were not on his side tonight. He wasn't even half way done with the jutsu when Orochimaru emerged from the smoke. He froze Deidara with his Body Freeze jutsu. The blond found himself frozen and unable to move. He struggled to move the best he could. It was useless. He was trapped. It would wear off in a bit, but then it would be pointless. Deidara had to finish the jutsu. He would surely die if he didn't. Either that, or have the same horrific things done to him just like before. _"Danna!"_ Deidara mentally called, hoping by some kind of divine intervention that he would hear him.

* * *

Sasori was distracted again by another explosion. His head twisted toward Orochimaru's castle and he squinted, as if trying to see Deidara. To no avail. While he was looking for Deidara, Kabuto decided to use him as a dartboard. Sasori just looked at the shuriken sticking out of his torso and raised a brow at the silver haired subordinate. He shook his head and ripped one from himself, chucking it at the medical ninja. Said ninja dodged easily and Sasori threw another before he hit the ground. It zoomed by Kabuto's right leg, scraping it a bit. The silver haired subordinate grunted and the marionette threw another one, aimed at the medical ninja's chest. Said ninja barely dodged and fell to his knees. Sasori used this to his advantage. He threw a shuriken aimed at Kabuto's head.

Kabuto's eyes widened as he saw the shuriken coming. There was nothing he could do. The shuriken impaled his forehead protector. The med-nin fell back on his back. Blood ran from under his forehead protector. It ran down the traitor's face as he blinked several times, trying to get a grip on himself. The blow had knocked the wind out of him. Not to mention, caused him to have a slight concussion. He heard Sasori approaching and backflipped to his feet in a crouching position. He glared at the Akasuna and narrowed his eyes. "I underestimated you, Sasori of the Red Sand," he grinned. The puppet master just stared. Kabuto started to perform a jutsu and Sasori threw one of his famous poison bombs at him. Kabuto quickly ran out of the poison smoke only to come face to face with the red head.

Sasori lodged a kunai in Kabuto's stomach, never breaking eye contact. The subordinate spit up blood and the red headed artist ripped the kunai from the silver haired man's stomach harshly. The man fell back, stumbling to keep his balance. He quickly performed a jutsu. His hands shone green as he hovered it over his wound. The wound started to heal slowly.

Sasori watched on. That kunai was tipped with one of his finest poisons. Even though he was able to heal his wound, he only solidified the inevitable death that could have been avoided. If only Kabuto knew poison was tipped on the kunai. He would feel the effects of his Black Fever(1) poison soon enough.

Kabuto started to perform his jutsu again as his eyes locked on Sasori. "Shadow Clone jutsu!" he yelled. Multiple Kabuto's popped up all around them. All of them bared kunai and shuriken. Sasori surveyed his surroundings. In another five minutes, Kabuto would feel the full effect of the poison. He just had to bide time for that long.

With that thought in mind, Sasori went to work at exterminating the clones. Two rushed at the right side of the puppeteer. Sasori didn't fail to notice this. He back-fisted one and punched another in the chest. They disappeared. His red hair fell in his eyes. He blew it out just in time to see two more rush at his back. He leaped in the air and twisted before throwing two shuriken at them. One landed on the clone's shoulder, another on the other clone's chest. They disappeared like the others. Sasori landed on his feet and knelt to the ground, looking back and forth at the others. He only had one poison bomb left. He wouldn't use that yet. It was considered a waste. Besides, the Black Fever poison would take effect in another four minutes.

A clone charged at his front while two more rushed at either side of Sasori. The red head sighed as he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He spun on his knee, tripping the clones in a quick swoop. As they were falling, he landed his foot to the back of one's head and his elbows to the others' backs. The three disappeared and Sasori looked around for the real Kabuto. He lost his sense of direction when he started fighting; it was useless. He would find him in time.

There were around twenty Kabuto's remaining. One of them had to be the real one. If not, Sasori would run on ahead to Deidara and Orochimaru. Five more clones rushed toward the Akasuna. One tried to land a kunai attack to the base of his neck. He was unsuccessful. Sasori grabbed his wrist and flung him into the other four. All five poofed away as they collided with the tree. The puppeteer's eyes went to work at trying to find Kabuto. Again, unsuccessful. He was too distracted.

Eight clones charged to Sasori now. The easily-angered red head felt his patience slipping farther and farther away by the second. He grabbed one by the shoulder and shoved him into the other two. As they disappeared in a puff of smoke, Sasori back-kicked another clone into three more. He then felt a clone land a kunai in his back. The marionette snarled as he flipped the clone over his shoulder onto the ground. He punched him square in the face and he disappeared. The Akasuna stayed on the ground, glaring up at the remaining seven.

The red head was getting angrier and more frustrated as these charades continued. He had to save his partner. He had to make sure Deidara was alright. Not waste his time fooling around with an idiot like Kabuto. The seven clones charged at the angered puppeteer. Sasori spun in a circle, knocking six off their feet, one jumping away. As the other six were in the air, Sasori threw shuriken at them, poofing all of them away. Only one left.

* * *

Deidara was thrown against the wall again. His head collided with the hard stone and he slid down limply. Inside his cloak, he started to perform the jutsu that would negate Orochimaru's immortality jutsu. The cloak didn't move. It didn't betray Deidara's movements, which was to his advantage. He could lure Orochimaru closer to him if the snake-nin thought him to be unconscious.

"My, my, Dei-chan. You certainly have lost all your fight, haven't you?" he mused. Orochimaru stepped closer as planned. He stopped suddenly and glared down at the "unconscious" Deidara. He started to snicker. "Clever, Dei-chan. Clever. I almost fell for your little charade. There is something you are planning, isn't there?" he asked, his golden eyes flashing dangerously.

Deidara remained silent. _'Damn! Almost had him! I have to think of another way...'_ Deidara thought to himself angrily. He had to think clearly. He had to study Orochimaru's movements. Otherwise, he had no chance in hell of getting close enough to do the jutsu.

Orochimaru sighed in boredom. "I grow weary of these games," he said musically. Snakes lashed out from under his sleeve toward Deidara. The blond leaped out of the way, the snakes colliding with the stone wall, knocking away the brick. The blond landed on a knee as he looked at the damage that could have been him. His eyes widened. He hadn't seen Orochimaru use that before. The Sound-nin laughed as the snakes recoiled back to his side, or rather, in his sleeve. "I knew you weren't unconscious, Dei-chan," he said whistfully.

Deidara glared at him. "You have no more power over me, un," he said seriously as he stood. He charged at Orochimaru quickly, all the while performing the counter immortality jutsu. He had to get it this time. He didn't know how much longer he could last.

Orochimary started to laugh. Snakes charged toward the incoming blond. They dove at his feet, trying to trip him or render him immobile. No use. The blond jumped over them and continued on. Orochimaru then sent them straight at the blond's chest. Deidara dodged easily to the left, continuing his run and his jutsu. The snake-nin grew tired of this cat and mouse game of theirs. He pointed both arms at him and snakes charged at him on both sides. Deidara's eyes widened. He stopped and jumped into the air.

The snakes dove into the air after him, one grabbing his right ankle. Deidara threw a tiny spider sculpture at it and detonated it on impact. The snake let go, only to be replaced by another. Another snake grabbed onto his left ankle, as well as his right. "Shit!" Deidara cursed as he blew up the other snakes. It was all a wasted effort. There was no end to these snakes. The Iwa-nin landed on the ground and had to jump back as soon as he hit solid ground. He spin-flipped off the wall and ran alongside the other wall, running away from the snakes chasing him. His hand mouth went to work on making many tiny explosives. Anything that would help.

Deidara ran out of running room and backflipped over the snakes. He threw multilpe spider explosives into the bunch, blowing the snakes to pieces. Orochimaru groaned in pain and retracted his arms. The blond landed on his feet in a kneeling position. His panting was heavy. He stared at Orochimaru, face covered in a thing veil of sweat. He was running out of clay. One pouch was completely gone out of two. His arm quivered as he held himself up. He couldn't give up yet. He had to perform that jutsu. He had to kill Orochimaru. He couldn't fail again.

Orochimaru found amusement in Deidara's facial expressions. His panting was a little heavy as well. "I see. You are exhausted," he grinned. Deidara swallowed to relieve his dry throat. He tried to steady his breathing. He needed a break. He couldn't rest, however, because if he had a break, so would Orochimaru. And he always recovered before Deidara. The Iwa terrorist quickly threw more tiny sculptures at the snake-nin. The spiders landed on the ground and the birds flew toward him. The room was now a mess. Debris was everywhere. Walls were crumbled. There was now a very huge opening in the ceiling. The castle was basically nonexistent, or you could say it was now in ruins. Both were correct.

Deidara quicky got to his feet and started the jutsu again. He ran at his target while the pale man fought off the explosive spiders with snakes. The birds flew dangerously close to Orochimaru's head and he soon swatted them away with more snakes from his opposite arm. This left plenty of time for the blond to get close enough to finish the jutsu.

Things would not go the blond's way, however. As soon as the Iwa-born got close enough in reaching distance, Orochimaru lashed out with his snake arm and struck Deidara's chest, flinging him back into the remains of the brick wall. The blond hit his head on the shattered brick, spilling blood onto the debris. His back laid painfully on a sharp brick. He was certain he either cracked or had broken a few ribs. Nonetheless, he was in some major pain. His leg was propped up on the small remains of the wall. His other laid limply over the rest of the debris. His arms were hanging on tall bricks, giving him the appearance that he had fallen from some height onto this stuff.

Orochimaru stalked closer to the motionless and beaten blond. He rummaged through the debris and saw Deidara waiting for him. A small smirk was on the blond's face. "You lose, un" he whispered. A sculpture flew out from his tattered sleeve toward Orochimaru. It carried him away into the sky and the snake ninja squirmed. The bird refused to let go, however. Once it was up far enough, Deidara smiled. "Katsu," he whispered. The C4 he had been saving to finish off the snake-nin exploded and Deidara watched it. "Such art, yeah," he said weakly.

He tried to get up. He knew Orochimaru's body would be hurling toward him any second. He recovered as fast as he could. Kind of difficult with the amount of pain he was in. Nonetheless, he did. Orochimaru's lifeless body fell to the ground with a loud thump and crack. The crack was no doubt a few bones breaking. Either way, Deidara had to get to Orochimaru to perform the jutsu. The blond crawled through the debris, hissing in pain as his injured body hit protruding bricks. His cuts and scrapes were being coated with sand and other things, causing him to be in severe pain.

He laid on his stomach and pulled himself weakly with his arms. He groaned in pain and grunted as he hit a brick on his right rib cage. It was definitely broken now. Cursing low under his breath, the blond continued his slow and painful treck closer to the beaten and broken Orochimaru. He saw the pale snake man still breathing. His eyes widened. This was risky, but it had to be done. The jutsu had to be cast.

As the blond crawled closer, he saw the blood at the corners of Orochimaru's lips. No doubt he had internal bleeding. If Deidara had the energy, he would kick him or smash his face into the ground. Too bad he didn't. It took all he had just to crawl to Orochimaru. Once he was at the snake-nin's side, he pulled himself to a kneeling, position. He sat back on his knees and performed the jutsu as best he could. It wasn't easy. All the movement only caused him more pain.

Just as Deidara did the last hand sign and the justu connected, Orochimaru opened his eyes. With what little energy the snake-nin possessed, he tackled Deidara to the ground. Deidara smirked. Orochimaru looked at him weakly with an odd expression. It was then that he realized he had fallen for a trap. Deidara jabbed his pointer and middle fingers of his right hand onto Orochimaru's forehead and his left pointer and middle fingers onto the snake's chest. "Reverse Immortality Jutsu,"(2) he whispered. He felt his lifeforce and energy leave him and Orochimaru felt his body go weak. The snake-nin collapsed on top of Deidara, unconscious. Deidara passed out as well, not having enough energy to finish his revenge. He needed rest. He would do it when he awoke, if Orochimaru didn't die of all his injuries first. What was important was that he succeeded in making Orochimaru mortal again. "Danna," he whispered before he fell asleep.

* * *

Sasori stopped his attack, his eyes wide. His head turned to the castle at the huge explosion. One of Deidara's C4 no doubt. It was confirmed when he saw the huge explosion and felt the shockwaves of it. Kabuto had stopped as well to look at the sight. His eyes widened as well. He knew Orochimaru had been caught in that explosion. "Lord Orochimaru!" he called as he ran off toward the castle.

Sasori followed. _'Stupid brat! Don't you dare die on me!'_ Sasori growled as he ran off ahead of Kabuto. They made it to where the other two were at the same time. Orochimaru was collapsed on top of Deidara, both unconscious. Sasori ran over to Orochimaru and Deidara, as did Kabuto.

Kabuto took Orochimaru off of the blond and laid him on the ground, looking over his injuries. He pressed his index and middle fingertips to Orochimaru's pulse point and hesitated. His eyes grew wide. "L-Lord Orochimaru?" he called quietly, shaking his Lord gently at first. When he wasn't responding, Kabuto shook him harder. "Orochimaru!" Kabuto called, stopping the shaking. "You're immortal! You can't die! Wake up!" Kabuto snarled.

Sasori watched on for a bit and looked back at Deidara. He really did it. He allowed a small smile to grace his cold features. "You did it, brat," he whispered. He saw a smile on Deidara's face in his unconscious state. Sasori noticed something not right about the blond. He pressed his ear to the blond's chest and could barely make out a heartbeat. He was near death. He shot up and looked at Deidara. "Dei?" he called quietly. He touched the blond's face and saw his breathing slow. "Shit!" he cursed.

Sasori quickly did hand signs and used his astral projection to contact Pein. "Leader-sama! Deidara is going to die if we don't do something," he said, almost too desperately.

Pein looked at him with apparent shock. Sasori had never felt this strongly about losing someone. Unless it was a puppet, but not even then. This truly was a rare sight. Sasori looked the same, but his voice was sort of desperate. Pein used his astral projection to survey the scene. He looked around and saw Kabuto and Orochimaru. He glared. His vision then came to an unconscious Deidara and a concerned Sasori knelt by his side. The hologram of Pein knelt down on the opposite side of Deidara and looked him over. "What happened?" he asked coldly in his deep voice.

Sasori explained the situation from the encounter with Kabuto to the fighting to the separation to this. Pein nodded. He looked down at Deidara. "I can't do much here. Unless you can somehow convince that medical ninja to help you, there is nothing I can do for him. If you can get back to base in an hour, I might be able to save him. If not, he will die," Pein said coldly.

Sasori blinked and looked at the leader. "You-"

"Do not argue with me, Sasori. You know as well as I that it is impossible to perform a jutsu on someone through astral projection. Not even I can do it. You're only hope is that medical ninja. If he won't help...Deidara will die." With that said, Pein disappeared.

Sasori rounded on Kabuto and had him by his shirt, holding him two feet off the ground. "Heal him," he ground out dangerously. "If you don't, I will kill you," he reasoned, eyes flashing dangerously.

Kabuto grinned. "We were just fighting and now you trust me enough to heal your partner? That's genius, Sasori. Besides, what makes you think I am so willing to help the one that killed Lord Orochimaru?" he asked with a hard stare.

Sasori whipped out a vial of a yellowish-amber liquid. "This is the antidote to the poison that flows through your veins. When I stabbed you with the kunai, it was tipped with one of my most deadliest poisons called Black Fever. In less than five minutes, you will die if you don't have this antidote. And I assure you, the death will be very painful and slow."

Kabuto stared in disbelief. "Y-You're lying," he countered.

Sasori stared at him seriously. "Does it look like I lie about my poisons?" he countered back. "In two minutes, you will first start to feel very uncomfortable. Your temperature will start to rise to above 104. If that does not kill you, your skin will slowly deteriorate. Once your skin has fallen off, your internal organs will begin to rupture. And if you are still alive after all of that, your brain will...short circuit in a way. This will cause all your blood vessels to pop and you will bleed out."

Kabuto's eyes grew to those of saucers. "Okay, okay! I'll heal him! Give me the damn antidote!" he squirmed.

Sasori dropped Kabuto and put the vial back in his cloak. "Not until you completely heal Deidara," he said sternly. Kabuto nodded and quickly went to work. Normally, it'd take five minutes to heal all these injuries, but Kabuto only had two. He went to work on the worst of injuries first. Sasori watched on, tapping his finger against his arm impatiently. He watched the blond's serious injuries being healed. This subordinate was as desperate as Sasori predicted. If he killed Deidara, Sasori would not give him the antidote. He had another three minutes before the painful parts came in. That should give Kabuto plenty of time to heal Deidara.

The two minutes were up and Kabuto started to feel a little hot. He didn't stop, however, knowing that what Sasori said about his poison was true. The poison expert wouldn't hype up his poison if it weren't true. Besides, Sasori was smart enough to really create a poison like that. Kabuto started to sweat and pant, but the healing never stopped or slowed down. Sasori watched on with interest. He looked over at Orochimaru and saw his finger twitch. His eyes widened and he quickly dipped the tip of a kunai into the Black Fever poison. He scratched Orochimaru with it and acted as if he never moved in the first place. How Orochimaru survived that, Sasori didn't know. But he most certainly wouldn't survive the poison.

Sasori glanced back at Deidara and saw his flawless pale skin completely healed. Kabuto was hunched over, panting heavily. The fever was well above 100 now. The poison was getting worse. Sasori grinned. He knelt beside Deidara and looked at Kabuto. "How can I be sure that you aren't tricking me into thinking he is healed?" Sasori asked stoically.

Kabuto looked at him, his eyes blooshot. "There is no way," he said panting. "To do that. Either you heal them or you don't...there is no inbetween...My ability will allow me to manipulate the dead for several minutes, not heal them," he said between pants.

Sasori stared at him. "How can I be sure that you did not find a way to do so?" he inquired. He would not take any chances. What if Deidara died and Kabuto just manipulated his dead body so Sasori could believe that he healed him just to get the antidote? Then as soon as the antidote worked, Deidara would die again. Sasori could not have that.

Kabuto shook his head, exhaustion taking over from the fever. "I can't...it's too much of a strain to both manipulate and heal someone...at the same time...besides...even though I can...manipulate the dead...I cannot put color back in their face..." he said with a smirk. That was sure to convince Sasori.

Sasori looked down at Deidara. He reached in his cloak for the antidote and gave it to Kabuto. He took Deidara in his arms while Kabuto downed the antidote shamelessly. He would live another day. Unfortunately. A deal was a deal. And Sasori was a dirty dealer. As Sasroi stood up, he heard Kabuto choke. He looked back at the medical ninja. He was grasping his throat painfully. Sasori smirked. "That will wear off once you are dead," he grinned.

"Y-You tricked me!" Kabuto yelled through the burning pain in his throat.

Sasori grinned. He looked over his shoulder. "No. That is the antidote. Just not the one you need," he smirked. Kabuto mouthed the word "why" and Sasori turned to him, Deidara in his arms, laying limply. "Why? You are the enemy. I kill all my enemies. Orochimaru will be going through the Black Fever soon enough. Somehow, he made it...I noticed it while you were healing my partner," he grinned. "That antidote acts as a stimulant when used for the wrong poison, speeding up the poison's process. So, in a matter of two minutes, you will die," he said, turning his back on the silver haired medical ninja.

"Sasori! You bastard!" Kabuto screamed as he broke off into screams. The poison certainly was doing its work. His skin was beginning to fall off. Behind him, Orochimaru's agonizing screams were heard.

Sasori continued on back to base. He looked down at Deidara and smiled. "Good job, Dei," he whispered as he kissed the blond's forehead. He was safe. Orochimaru and Kabuto were dead, or would soon be dead. Sasori darted in and out of the trees. He had to get leader to look at Deidara, even though Kabuto claimed he was fully healed. If anything, this bought him time until he could get to Pein in Ame.

* * *

**TBC**

(1) **Black Fever** – Black Fever is a poison I created for this story. Though Sasori already explained it to Kabuto, here is a mental note. The temperature will start to rise to above 104. If that does not kill the target, their skin will slowly deteriorate. Once the skin has fallen off, the internal organs will begin to rupture. And if they are still alive after all of that, their brain will short circuit, or another way of putting it is that their brain will go haywire. This will cause all their blood vessels to pop and the victim will bleed out. More symptoms of this poison include hallucinations, short term memory loss, seizures, and vomiting blood. Those symptoms only affects certain people. And they take place in the fever stage of the poison. Kabuto did not exhibit any of these symptoms due to his stubbornness to heal Deidara. Orochimaru, however, experienced blood vomiting, seizures, and hallucinations. It was not shown due to the fact that if I did, the chapter would be twice as long.

(2) **Reverse Immortality jutsu** – Orochimaru is supposed to have some kind of forbidden "immortality jutsu" that he uses as a sorce of not dying. It grants Orochimaru the ability to project his soul into the world, anchoring the spirit. Orochimaru can then find a new body, take control of it – and once again become young. It's a sort of reincarnation spell. The Reverse Immortality jutsu, something I created as well, allows Deidara to remove that Immortality, thus being able to kill him. The way this jutsu works is that you must do a series of complicated hand signs. Once those are completed and the jutsu has connected, you then have thirty seconds to touch the person you wish to perform the jutsu on. It can't be a normal touch, however. You must press your index and middle fingers to their forehead and the other pointer and middle fingers to their chest. Upon doing so, the brain will accept direct orders of chakra to cancel out the jutsu. The heart will stop beating for few moments until the jutsu is complete. If the heart does not stop beating, the jutsu failed. That is why Orochimaru felt his body go weak. His heart stopped beating. Upon completion of this forbidden jutsu, there is a major price to pay: 1/3 of the person's life. Seeing that Deidara performed this jutsu on Orochimaru, he had to give 1/3 of his life to the snake-nin, shortening his life. The reason 1/3 of the user's life is given to the victim, is because if they didn't give any life to the person, the procedure would have surely killed them. That is why Kabuto thought Orochimaru was dead and Sasori saw that he was not. It was not Deidara's choice to give a third of his life to him, however. Don't misunderstand. It is required. If 1/3 of the person's life is not given up, the performer of the jutsu, namely Deidara, would die.


	15. Sasori's Anxiety and Deidara's Awakening

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A/N: There will only be a few more chapters after this one. By few...I mean...about...crap...I dunno. Two or three. I don't want to overkill this story XD But there definitely will be a sequel!! I thought of a new plot twist! evil grin Hope you enjoyed the fight scene last chapter! I tried my best being sickly. Kittie is always getting sick . poor me. Anyways. I hope you also liked the explanations of the Reverse Immortality jutsu and the Black Fever poison! It came to me in a dream...rofl. I sounded mystic! Just kidding. Anyways..they really did come to me in a dream. I had just watched Naruto before going to bed and yeah...I'm weird. Anyways. On with the story before I scare you guys away with my weirdness. Oh! And speaking of. There's a heart warming SasoxDei moment. And a lime...with Kisame's randomness!!! Gotta love a sugar high! XD Also, another poison explanation at the bottom. Ja ne!

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 15: Sasori's Anxiety and Deidara's Awakening

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_

It was nightfall. All the fireflies flew by the same tree Sasori witnessed Deidara playing with them at. The same one Sasori thought he looked like an angel at. The crisp night air flew through his red tresses as he looked down at his blond partner. He hadn't woken up yet. It was about an hour ago that Sasori decided he should stop for the night. He didn't want to risk waking Deidara. He needed his rest after that battle with Orochimaru. Hopefully he would have his sanity back in tact when he awoke. Hopefully. His previous thoughts of seeing Pein was knocked off when he saw Deidara's breathing return to normal and his mumbling of incoherent calls for Sasori was heard. This only succeeded in assuring the Akasuna that Deidara was in fact alive. He would still get Pein to look at him, but it was not that much of a rush.

As Sasori watched Deidara sleep, he saw the blond stir a bit. Sasori's whole being filled with anticipation. Was he waking up? Was he alright? Did he remember anything? Sasori pushed the eagerness aside for now. It wasn't like him to be eager. This blond truly has changed the puppeteer. Within a few months, Sasori has changed from cold, emotionless, hard, stoic asshole to warm, gentle, caring, kind lover. At least to Deidara he was that way. He upheld his cold shoulder with the other Akatsuki members. That was how it should be. And that was how it would always be.

The blond was resting gently against his shoulder, sitting in Sasori's lap. His arms hung limply at his sides and his legs bent up a bit for stability. Sasori had his arms around the Iwa man's waist and his head on Deidara's. Sasori wished he could feel the warm breath on his neck, but it was a lost effort. He was in his battle body. Not his human. He secretly wished he had brought that one. As he looked down at Deidara, he saw a serene look on the blond's face. He looked so content. So happy. So peaceful. The color in his cheeks was a bright pink thanks to the night air. Hair fell over the blond's right eye, mimicking that of the left, and Sasori unclasped his hands to move it aside softly. The blond truly was remarkable.

The moonlight shone in all its brilliance over the two lovers. They were safe. They were free. Orochimaru was dead. Kabuto could not carry on their legend. Everything was fine. As Sasori sat there, he couldn't help but think of Kabuto's words. _"Especially after what happened in Iwa a few years back. Oh! You mean he didn't tell you?"_ Sasori was angered by this. Deidara hadn't told him something. It might not be important, but then again, it might as well be. Either way, Sasori didn't like not knowing the full story. Or any reasoning as to why he didn't know for that matter.

The blond stirred again and all Sasori's anxiety went away. Like Deidara, Sasori was calmed by the other's presence. Sasori stared down at the blond and smirked. _'He'll tell me eventually. Or possibly if I ask him about it,'_ he thought to himself. He leaned his head back on the tree and closed his eyes. What a day.

* * *

The sun peaked over the horizon, lighting all the darkened shadows until they were no more. Birds sang happily. The warmth of the sun shone everywhere its rays could reach. The water sparkled like tiny precious jewels had been dropped into it. Sasori watched the scenery before him. Squirrels scurried across the way, a mother fox came from her den and darted into the forest, leaving its babies behind to find food, and rabbits hopped around freely. The forest was at peace since the evil was gone.

Deidara hadn't woken yet. It had been a full day that he had been sleeping. Sasori looked down at him and figured he'd rest for some time before waking up. He got up, Deidara in his arms, and slowly glided across the forest floor in fluid steps. He carried the blond bridal style so he could keep an eye on his progress. The color from his cheeks hadn't faded, the blond in his hair still shone brightly. Nothing was amiss.

The Akasuna picked up his pace a bit when he could make out the faint sight of the Akatsuki base. He made it through the village walls easily and went straight inside the base. He ran through the hallways and saw Zetsu in front of Pein's door. He walked up to the plant-like man and Zetsu nodded. "Go on in," the white side told Sasori. **"No way. Why should we let skinny in?" **the black side protested. "Because his partner needs help," the white side replied as he stepped aside to grant Sasori access.

Sasori paid no mind to Zetsu's two sides arguing. He just walked right through the door and saw Pein at his desk. The fiery orange eyes landed on Sasori holding an unconscious Deidara. The leader's hands were crossed with his mouth hidden behind it (imagine Sasuke's way of sitting when he explains he needed to kill someone when first meeting Kakashi and the others). His eyes bore holes in Sasori, and the red head's glare was just as unwavering. Pein nodded and got up from his desk. He walked around to Sasori and took Deidara from his arms. He laid the blond on his desk, not caring about the paperwork for the moment. He looked him over. "Kabuto helped?" Pein asked as he hovered his hand over Deidara, as if scanning him.

Sasori nodded. "I'm not completely sure. I brought him to you to see if there was some kind of trickery involved," Sasori explained, not taking his eyes off of Deidara's motionless form.

Pein nodded and stopped at Deidara's forehead, his hand hovering centimeters above it. "The boy is healed. As if he never fought at all. He just appears to be sleeping. If he does not wake in a day, bring him back to me." Pein dismissed Sasori and rounded his desk back to his chair. Sasori nodded and bowed before taking Deidara off the leader's desk. He turned to leave until Pein spoke again. "I am disappointed in you, Sasori." Sasori looked over his shoulder at his orange haired leader. The leader's eyes were closed. The multiple piercings shone off the candlelight. "Was it not you who said that human emotions were pointless and would only serve as a weakness?" he finally asked as he opened his burning orange eyes to look at him.

Sasori blinked and grinned. "That was before the brat came along," Sasori said stoically as he turned to leave. He made it to the door and the door opened, revealing a squabbling Zetsu. They shut up and stood at attention until the door was closed again. Sasori heard the Zetsu's arguing again and rolled his eyes. He made his way to his room and opened the door quietly. He looked down at the blond and saw him cuddle closer to him. He stared thoughtfully for a moment until he finally set him on Sasori's bed. This would be a long night. The red head felt anxiety kick in overdrive. He tried his best to suppress it, but it was no use. He soon became ancy. What could Leader have possibly meant by if he hasn't awoken in a day? Why wouldn't he?

Sasori didn't feel like trying to figure it out. He just listened to the rhythmic breathing of his blond lover. He had to repair Hiruko. That would take forever. Mind as well get started. Sasori unrolled as scroll and summoned the broken pieces that was Hiruko. He sat on the floor and looked at them again. He had to decide if any of the parts were salvageable. Most of them weren't. Sasori sighed in frustration. He crossed his legs and glared at the pieces. "Should have given him the Demon Night(1) poison," Sasori growled under his breath.

No use crying over spilled milk. He quickly began to look through his odd puppet parts in his closet. He rustled around the box and had to bend down so he didn't hit his head on the shelf above him. Fate really hated him. A knock came at the door. A very loud one. Sasori jumped and hit his head on the shelf. The shelf fell over with a loud crash, knocking over two of his puppets. The puppeteer growled and tapped his finger on the floor. The door opened and Kisame and Hidan stood there. The red head glared up at them from beneath his puppets. "What?" Sasori bit out venomously.

Kisame and Hidan resisted the urge to laugh. Instead, they pulled the heavy puppets off of Sasori and helped the puppeteer up. Sasori had the right mind to knock them across the globe. Kisame wore his trademark grin while Hidan went over to the sleeping blond. The blue man sighed. "Are they dead?" he asked seriously. Sasori nodded. "What about the kid?" he asked, jabbing his thumb and head back at the blond.

Sasori looked over at the blond and remained silent. "He's alive," he said stiocally again. He went to work at going through his puppet box again. He really didn't want to talk to these two loud mouths right now. Especially not when Deidara was asleep. Or rather...unconscious.

"I see...what happened?" Kisame asked as he glanced back at Hidan, who was being unusually quiet and well behaved. The white haired Jashinist had pulled up a chair, back of it to Deidara and was straddling it with his chin on his arms, watching him sleep. Hidan was worried about someone for once. Kisame had to do a double take until Sasori finally answered him.

"Orochimaru fought Deidara and I fought Kabuto to keep the bastard out of the way. The brat blew everything up, including Orochimaru. By the time I reached him, he had several broken and/or cracked ribs and his blood was everywhere. Kabuto was infected with Black Fever and I bribed him with the antidote, which I still have," he said, flashing the vial of the real antidote. "I told him that if he didn't heal Deidara, he would die a very slow and painful death. I explained to him the effects of the poison and he was persuaded. Too bad I didn't keep up my end of the bargain. Orochimaru was alive...but I took care of that with the same poison," Sasori explained with a shrug. He was impartial to all of this. He didn't care.

Kisame whistled. "Geez. I remember that Black Fever poison. That thing's torture!" Kisame laughed. Sasori nodded and stood up after all the parts were gathered. Kisame looked over at the open scroll and broken puppet parts. "Hiruko go bye-bye, huh?" the shark man asked, crossing his arms. The Akasuna nodded again, this time slightly annoyed. He walked over to the scroll and started to lay the parts out. "Ya know-"

"Hey, guys! He's fucking waking up!" Hidan yelled with a grin on his face.

Sasori and Kisame looked over at Deidara quickly. He was only stirring. Sasori shook his head and sighed. "He does that. He's not waking up. Until you see his eyes open, he's not waking up, Hidan," Sasori said with a bit of aggravation. Hidan made a small "oh" and went back to his silence. _'Stupid mother hen...'_ the marionette thought as he went back to work on his puppets.

Kisame sighed and turned back to Sasori, sitting on his bed, looking down at the puppeteer. "Everyone was worried that you two might not come back," Kisame said honestly. Sasori paid him no mind. He just kept fitting the parts back together. "Especially the kid. He is the weakest of us all, ya know?" Kisame asked.

Sasori stopped everything and glared up at Kisame. "He's not weak," he spat out in a low tone. Kisame just stared. "He's not as weak as you think he is," he said in a somewhat softer voice as he looked back at Deidara. He turned back at Kisame and glared. "Don't call him weak," he ordered as he went back to work.

Kisame blinked a couple of times. Sasori stood up for someone. He really has changed. "Ya know, 'Sori...you've changed," he said with a grin.

Sasori glared at the name. He clutched a knife in his hand that he used as a tool to repair his puppets. "Call me that again and you will be sushi."

Kisame gulped and sweat dropped. "S-sure thing, Sasori," he laughed nervously. _'Always got to make a sushi joke...'_ Kisame thought with a sigh. "Anyways. We just popped in to see how everything was going. Is everything alright between you two?" he asked, not like he cared or anything.

Everyone heard a snap and looked at Sasori. They could feel the anger radiating off of him. Kisame looked down at his hand and saw the tool was broken that he used to fasten the joints. He blinked. That was pure metal! Kisame quickly got up and scooted away from Sasori. "Everything...is...fine," Sasori said through clenched teeth.

Kisame gulped and nodded. "Uh, okay. We'll, uh, be, uh, going now. See ya, Sasori," Kisame said as he darted from the room, dragging a cursing Hidan.

Sasori unclenched his fist and sighed. He looked down and his brow furrowed. What was wrong with him? Ever since the fight with Orochimaru, he's been a bit touchy. Kabuto's words really affected him. He couldn't stop thinking about what Deidara was hiding. Then again, why was Deidara considered an S-rank criminal in the first place? Why did Pein claim he needed him in the Akatsuki? It couldn't have been because of his "art." It had to be something more. Something the blond wasn't telling him.

Sasori put Hiruko back inside the scroll and put it under his bed for now. He walked over to Deidara's side and sat in the previously occupied chair. He turned it to face Deidara this time so he wouldn't straddle it like Hidan. He watched the blond sleep and felt anxiety wash over him again. This did nothing for his composure. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. _'Kisame was right. This brat has changed me. None of this should be affecting me. But it is. The brat isn't important. Nor is his past. He's just a partner. Just a...'_ Sasori stopped his thoughts. He was lying to himself. Deidara was more than just a partner to Sasori. He was a friend. A lover. A companion. A mate. He was his whole world.

"Danna..." came a whisper, smaller than anything Sasori had ever heard before. The red head's vision snapped to Deidara and saw him roll over onto his side, facing the puppeteer. The Akasuna blinked and tried to determine whether that was real or just a figment of his imagination. He was a little on edge right now. So maybe it was- "Danna," the whisper came louder.

Sasori looked at the blond and leaned closer to study him. Was he awake? Was he asleep? What was going on? The puppeteer reached out and gingerly brushed his hand along the blond's cheek. "Dei?" he whispered back as his face suddenly became inches away from the blond's. "Dei? Are you awake?" he asked, unsure of what was going on.

Deidara's eyes fluttered open. His sight landed on Sasori and he smiled warmly. "Sasori-danna?" the blond artist asked sleepily. "What's wrong, un?" he asked as his hand reached out to touch his danna's cheek. Sasori's face was pale, if you could believe it. His expression was blank. He was worried.

Sasori grinned as he gently kissed Deidara. His hand laced in his blond hair as he pulled him closer by the back of his neck. The blond terrorist blushed and became fully awake. What a way to wake up. He kissed back, though, unsure of why Sasori was kissing him so passionately. He wrapped his arm around his red headed lover's neck and pulled him as close as he could. The puppeteers tongue slipped out to run along the blond's lips softly. The Iwa man opened for his danna and their tongues met once again in a heated kiss. The wet muscles slid past one another, tasting the sweetness of their partner.

Sasori leaned into Deidara, rolling him onto his back. He crawled on top of the blond easily and let his hands rest on either side of his shoulders. He broke the kiss to gently kiss, suckle, and nip at his lover's neck. Deidara moaned quietly and wrapped his arms around the red head's neck. The puppet body didn't matter anymore. As Sasori nipped at Deidara's neck, the blond ran his fingers through the red tresses. "Dei," Sasori whispered against his neck. The blond moaned in response. "I have something to ask you," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on his lover's neck.

"What is it, danna?" Deidara asked, trying to calm himself. He let his hands run up and down Sasori's arms as he looked up at him.

Sasori's eyes were lustful, yet serious. "Kabuto mentioned something when we were fighting. What didn't you tell me?" he asked. Deidara looked at him curiously. The marionette averted his glance as he asked again. "He said you didn't tell me something involving Iwa," he clarified.

Deidara's eyes widened and he turned his head to the side. "Do I...have to tell you now, un?" he asked quietly. Hurt was heard in his voice. It was a painful subject for the blond, just as the Akasuna thought.

Sasori looked at him and studied his face for a minute. _'I thought so. It's a touchy subject like me discussing my body,'_ he thought. He turned the blond's face to look at him. Tears collected at the corners of his lover's eyes as the puppet master looked at him. The red head smiled honestly and shook his head. "When you're ready," he whispered, placing another kiss on the blond's lips. Deidara smiled under the kiss and wrapped his arms around the red head's neck again. He understood. Finally, someone understood Deidara.

The blond felt Sasori's tongue against his lips once again and he willingly opened for him. Their tongues danced in each other's mouths in a heated passion. The red headed puppeteer ran his hands along the blond's ribs. He traveled up to his chest and then down to his hips. He gripped them tightly and ground his hips against the blond's. Deidara moaned and arched his back for Sasori. The red head broke the kiss to trail licks and bites down the Iwa man's jawline. He made it to the hollow beneath his ear and started to suck softly.

Deidara moaned and turned his head to the side, exposing more vulnerable skin. "Danna," he moaned quietly. Sasori bit harder and Deidara arched again. The Akasuna grinned against his partner's skin and sat up slowly. His red hair hung in his eyes as he stared down at his blond lover. He was panting and his face was flushed. He looked so attractive to the red head. He loved it when Deidara looked like this.

Sasori cupped his lover's cheek in his hand and studied his bruised lips. He looked at where he had been kissing and sucking to see a red mark. He saw the blond's chest rise and fall in uneven breaths. His eyes were glazed over with love mixed with lust. The perfect combination in Sasori's mind. As he looked closer, he saw the blond shiver from the coldness of the room hitting his heated skin. The red headed artist shuddered with anticipation. He gripped the blond's shirt and mesh at the same time and slowly started to lift them. The athletic body slowly became visible to the puppeteer.

The shirts slipped over Deidara's head and the blond sat up to help his danna remove all of it. He stayed sitting up, running his fingers over the buttoned cloak. He slipped a finger between the buttons and started to unsnap them at a painfully slow pace. As the buttons came unfastened one by one, it started to slip off Sasori's shoulders. The Akasuna grabbed the cloak before it could get past his collarbone. Deidara looked at his danna curiously. Sasori shook his head and got off of the blond. He didn't want his partner to see his real body again. For some reason, he thought Deidara didn't completely accept it. He just looked over at the sculptor and stared for a few moments. "Danna...I want to see, un," he whispered to his red headed lover.

Sasori looked away and sighed. He couldn't shake that look Deidara had last time when he saw it. He could have swore he saw disgust and fear. He could have swore Deidara lied to him about accepting him. But, as he looked into those blue eyes, all his anxiety and worry and fear washed away as if it never existed. Deidara's hand gripped Sasori's. He gently held it over the cloak and smiled warmly at his danna. No matter what happened, Deidara would always love Sasori. At this realization, the puppeteer's grip slowly started to release the cloak, staring into the blue eyes that held him captive.

The cloak fell off Sasori's shoulders, revealing his battle puppet body. The symbol for "scorpion" on his heart was visible to Deidara as was the other two closed compartments for the poison wire and the multiple chakra strings. The young artist glanced down at Sasori's heart and smiled before softly tracing his fingers over it. Sasori's breath hitched for a minute. He could feel it. He looked down at Deidara tracing the symbol and stared for a while. The sculptor watched him intently and smiled warmly. "What's wrong, danna?" he whispered.

Sasori stared in disbelief. In all the years of him being in this body, he wasn't able to feel anything. It was always his human puppet body he wore to feel. He swore he lost all the feeling in this one. Sasori looked at Deidara and cupped his cheeks in his hands. Deidara was slightly confused. He stopped tracing Sasori's heart and retracted his hand skittishly. The red head kissed his lips lovingly. He leaned his head by the blond's ear and smiled. "Don't stop," he whispered.

Deidara smiled warmly at Sasori. He started to trace the symbol again as his red headed lover got on top of him again. He leaned down to kiss Deidara's neck. He kissed the hollow of the bomber's neck and said blond moaned softly. Sasori always knew the right spots to hit to turn the blond on. The Akasuna moved on to nibble on Deidara's ear. His breath came out warm on the Iwa artist's ear before he took the lobe into his mouth. The blond moaned again and arched his back, his tracing getting sloppy. Sasori grinned and thrust his hips into Deidara's. The blond moaned and arched off of the bed.

Sasori held Deidara's face in his hands again as he looked at him. He kissed the blond again and trailed his hands down to Deidara's chest. He teased the sculptor's nipples as he bit his lip softly, seeking entrance. It was granted as Deidara moaned. The red head's tongue sought that of his blond's and found it within seconds. They found each other's wet muscle and instantly engaged in the war of dominance they so often fought. Sasori's tongue slipped past Deidara's as he added nips to the blond's bottom lip.

Deidara started to tug at Sasori's pants eagerly. His fingers hooked in the puppeteer's waistband and Sasori cracked his eyes open to look at his partner's face. His eyes were closed, enjoying the kiss with a slight blush on his cheeks. The hair had fallen out of the way of his left eye, much to the Suna-born's liking. The Akasuna lifted his hips to help Deidara remove his pants. The Iwa-nin eagerly started to slip the pants off as Sasori broke the kiss to give his lover air.

The door burst wide open and Deidara jumped. Sasori hung his head with a frustrated sigh. His forehead rested on the pale shoulder as the blond sat up. In the doorway was a half naked Kisame. "Sasori! Ya gotta help me!" the shark man exclaimed, still not seeing them. He quickly rushed into Sasori's room and shut and locked the door. Sasori really didn't think he _had_ to lock the door, seeing as people always _knocked_.

"Kisame...I'm only going to say this once...get out," Sasori bit out, still leaning his head on Deidara's shoulder.

Deidara blinked at Kisame. "Uh...what's wrong, un?" he asked. He _had_ to ask, didn't he? Sasori glanced at the clueless blond and bit his shoulder. The younger of the two bit his lip to resist moaning. His hands rested on Sasori's sides as he looked over the red head's right shoulder to see Kisame.

Kisame ran his sharpened nails through his hair as he sighed, turning to them. His eyes widened and he hugged the door with fear. He had just walked in on Sasori and Deidara getting it on, or getting ready to. He was in some serious trouble. "Er...S-Sasori? Er...I'm...sorry," Kisame said nervously. Sasori gripped the sheets angrily and shook his head. He didn't budge. If he did, he would surely kill the shark man. He turned to Deidara and sighed. "Welcome back, kid. And I kinda...pissed Itachi off...we were kind of in the middle of something and..." It was then that Deidara noticed the blood on Kisame's teeth. His eyes widened and he grabbed between his legs. Kisame laughed. "No! No, no, no! Not that! Er...never mind. Let's just say...I bit him too hard," he said with a sweat drop.

Deidara stared at him with boredom. "Kisame, un?" Kisame gave him his full attention. Deidara's eye flashed dangerously into the steely blue it changed to when he was angry or serious. "Get out. Get over it, yeah. He's your boyfriend, you go work it out, un," he warned.

Kisame sweat dropped. He left and Sasori shook his head, his forehead rubbing against Deidara's shoulder. "Stupid idiot. Like we want to hear about his and Itachi's business..." Sasori grumbled. The moment was lost. Thanks to a certain shark. The same shark that would either die by Itachi or Sasori. Either way, the puppeteer was going to make him into sushi. That is, if Itachi didn't make him into shark fin soup first.

Deidara wrapped his arms around Sasori's waist and rested his head on the red head's shoulder. "It'd be alot easier if you were in your human puppet body, yeah," he chuckled. Sasori snickered and bit Deidara's shoulder playfully with a "hush, brat." The blond nudged Sasori's head with his and said red head looked at him with a smirk. Deidara grinned and tackled his danna onto his back, the older's legs on his hips. Sasori blinked and stared with confusion. Deidara rested his head on the puppeteer's shoulder and nuzzled his neck gently. He traced the symbol that held his heart and smiled warmly. "I love you, danna," Deidara whispered quietly as he placed a single kiss below Sasori's jaw.

The Akasuna grinned and wrapped his arms around Deidara securely. "Aishiteru, Dei," he whispered back, kissing the blond's forehead.

Deidara yawned and snuggled closer to Sasori, closing his eyes. "Let's try again, yeah," he smiled warmly. Sasori smirked and ran his hand up Deidara's back.

"When you wake up, brat," he grinned as he laid there and listened to Deidara's steady breathing.

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**TBC**

(1) **Demon Night poison** – A poison deadlier than that of the Black Fever. This poison has been perfected to cloud the target's senses. The first of the senses to go, is the taste, making it hard to be detected. The next to go is the sense of smell. Once the taste and smell are completely useless, the major senses start to take affect. The next sense to leave is the sense of touch. Once the touch is gone, the hearing, as well as the sight leaves the target. As soon as the sight leaves the target, they start to relive their most feared dream/memory, causing them to break into a fit of insanity. If they somehow are immune to that affect, which is highly unlikely, the poison then immediately moves onto the next phase. However, if the person is affected as planned, the next step to this poison proceeds to take affect. The throat will begin to burn, the eyes water, and the skin on fire. Their temperature will rise to that of 106 or higher. However, the poison will not allow the body to die until it has gone through the complete process that it is designed for. It puts the body in a sort of suspended animation, if you will. As the temperature rises, the skin will start to boil, forming tiny painful blisters. Upon a simple touch, the blister will pop, exposing nerves and any other underlying bodily organs. Multiple blisters will start to form along the arms, stomach, neck, face, and legs. Once they pop, blood rushes out. Once the blood has dispersed, the tiny nerves are visible. Upon closer inspection, one can see the nerves start to slowly deteriorate and pulse wildly. Eventually, they will pop and spray more blood. The body is still not allowed to die, however. Once all this happens, the brain will start to malfunction, slowly shutting down all the internal organs one by one. As soon as the heart stops, the pressure from the lack of air and blood will cause the brain to...explode, for lack of a better term. The nerves in the brain will be shot, the veins will pop, and all the other sensory parts of it will cease functioning. This is by far the worst way to die. Making it one of Sasori's most deadliest of poisons.


	16. A Trick Followed by a Treat

A/N: Don't kill me!!! I'm sorry for the tease T-T I was sugar high...well...on one XD Anyways. I swear there is one last lemon coming up. I can't just leave ya'll hanging XD That'd be mean...but...I think you will hate me at the end of the story...but I swear there will be a sequel!!! I have the ideas for it now! I just gotta hurry up and end this story first . I rock at cliff hangers but I suck at endings. Go figure XD Anyways. On with the story! Oh! Speaking of...Deidara gets a lesson in seme-101 XD Ja ne!

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 16: A Trick Followed by a Treat

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_

Deidara woke up around midnight. He looked around and realized he had fallen asleep on Sasori again. He sat up, still between the puppet's legs and rubbed his eyes. He looked down at Sasori. "Danna," he whispered as he laid back down to nip at his danna's neck. Nothing was heard. He tilted his head and blinked. "Danna?" he called as he cupped his cheek. No response. Deidara quickly sat up and looked down at the Akasuna. Not much could be seen due to the lack of light. The bomber quickly turned on the light beside the bed and looked back to Sasori. His eyes widened and he shrieked as he fell off the bed.

Footsteps could be heard as they neared the room. Deidara shook as he stared wide eyed at the lifeless puppet on the bed. The door flung open, revealing Hidan, Kisame, and...Sasori!? Deidara's eyes widened again. "Danna!?" he screamed as he looked back and forth between the puppet on the bed and the Sasori standing at the doorway.

Kisame and Hidan both started to crack up. The Suna-born just brought his hand to his forehead with a sigh. He walked in and over to Deidara on the floor. He knelt in front of the frantic blond and held the Iwa-nin's face in his hands. "Don't freak out," he said calmly.

"I think it's too late for that!" Kisame laughed as he bent over, holding his stomach. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes as he continued to laugh at the circumstances.

"Fuck yeah!" Hidan joined in as he laughed his ass off. Sasori shot them both a glare. "We'll catch ya later, puppet man," the Jashinist laughed as he led Kisame out.

Sasori turned back to Deidara and saw his eyes still wide. He kissed him softly. The Iwa-nin's breathing started to slow and he calmed down. When Deidara was calm enough, Sasori broke the kiss. He stared at the blond seriously. "You were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you. I just used my chakra strings to pull my human puppet body to me. I changed bodies," he explained. "I had to check on something."

Deidara looked at his danna with an expression that read "you're gonna pay for that, yeah." The Suna-born grinned and shook his head. "So that on the bed..." the Iwa native said, looking back at the lifeless puppet.

"A shell. A lifeless puppet," the puppeteer explained as he got up. He concentrated his chakra to his fingertips and moved the puppet off the bed. He walked it over to the closet and had it seat itself on top of the shelf he molded back into place earlier. He released his chakra strings to turn back to Deidara. The blond had a grin on his face. The red head stared with apparent confusion.

Deidara tackled Sasori onto his back and straddled him. He leaned down by his danna's neck and kissed gently. "That was a nasty trick, yeah," he whispered seductively. Sasori shuddered uncontrollably, causing his blond lover to smirk.

The puppeteer tilted his head back to look at the door upside down. "Dei, the door," he said monotonously. Sasori grabbed Deidara's shoulders roughly as the blond bit down on his neck. "Dei...seriously...the door's wide open," he breathed, trying not to moan.

Deidara grinned. He sat up to look at Sasori, his blond hair cascading over his pale shoulders. The Akasuna swore he stopped breathing at that sight. Deidara rolled his visible eye and got up reluctantly. He walked over to the door and peered out quietly. He looked to the left then to the right and grinned. He closed the door and locked it, not making the same mistake as before when Kisame burst in. He turned back to look at his danna. He raised a brow and looked around for the puppeteer. "Danna?" he called quietly. He walked forward a bit and continued to look around.

Deidara stopped moving and blinked. He tried to move again, but found that he couldn't. His arms started to move of their own accord. They trailed to his nipples. His fingers tweaked them and Deidara moaned with a shudder. "That's...dirty, danna," he moaned as he started to walk toward the bed. He stopped at the side of the bed as his hands trailed down his stomach to his hips. His fingers looped in the waistband of his pants as he started to slip them off. They fell to the floor and Deidara stood back up, still looking around for his danna. He crawled onto the bed and laid on his back. He spread his legs shamelessly and propped himself up on the pillows in a half-sitting, half-laying position. His hand trailed down his stomach until the tip of his finger touched the base of his cock. "D-danna," the young artist panted.

"Dei," Sasori called from the darkness. The Suna puppeteer decided to reveal himself. He stepped out of the corner of the room, his hand working with the chakra strings to control Deidara to do his bidding. His pants were still in place as he looked at his blond lover. He walked over to the bed and sat on his knees in front of his lover. He smirked at the blond as he made the Iwa artist's hand grab hold of his hardened member. He made him stroke himself slowly, causing Deidara to whimper quietly.

Deidara lolled his head back as he took in the sensations. His hand mouth stuck its tongue out to lick along his shaft. Deidara arched as a moan escaped his lips. "S-Sasori, that's not f-fair, un," he whined as Sasori made his pace increase. A snicker was heard and the shifting of the bed was felt. There was a dip between Deidara's legs and he lifted his head to see what it was. As soon as his eyes landed on the red headed puppeteer, his head was thrust back and his back arched.

Sasori licked his partner's slit and controlled his lover's hands to embed themselves in the redness of his hair. The puppeteer released the chakra strings and immediately, Deidara spread his legs further and rested a hand on Sasori's shoulder. The red head hooked his arms under the blond's legs as he took his length into his mouth. Deidara moaned quietly, his grip on the puppeteer's hair tightening. Sasori ran his tongue up the underside of his partner's shaft, drawing another shudder from the blond. He tasted a saltiness on his tongue and smirked.

Deidara sat up a bit to look at Sasori. The blond's heavy lidded eyes could barely make out Sasori's narrowed brown ones looking up at him. Sasori slid his hand to his partner's backside. He traced the tight ring of muscle, earning another moan and an arch from the Iwa-nin. "Danna," he moaned breathlessly. Said red head's finger slipped inside easily, feeling the tightness and heat emitted from his lover. Sasori moaned at the feeling and the vibrations caused Deidara to moan louder. His arms gave out and he collapsed onto his back again.

Sasori started to pump his finger in and out of Deidara. His pace increased as his tongue slid over his partner's slit again. Deidara's breathing increased. His panting became heavier. His legs started to shake. Sasori took in all the sensations. His tongue slid over the slit one last time and his blond lover released with a loud cry. Sasori swallowed all of his blond's essence and sat up to look at him. He licked his lips and grinned down at his exhausted partner. "That wasn't loud enough, Dei," he teased. "Looks like we need to continue," he whispered into his sculptor's ear.

Deidara's hand snaked up to bury his fingers into the red hair of his puppeteer. Brown met blue in a heated gaze. The blond's panting started to slow as he caught his breath. Sasori just ran the back of his hand across the blond's cheek as he gazed lustfully into the shining blue eyes that captivated him every time. Deidara's expression completely changed when he finally caught his breath. Sasori smirked at him, knowing full well what he was going to do.

Deidara leaned up to kiss his danna. Sasori felt himself being pushed back, but allowed it. He was pushed to his knees and the blond Iwa born sat completely up. He rested his hand on the puppeteer's chest and pushed, breaking the kiss. Sasori fell on his back and Deidara crawled on top of him. He leaned down and kissed his danna's neck, grinding his hips against the marionette's. The red head shuddered. He felt the Iwa-nin place his legs on his hips, causing Deidara to rest in between his partner's legs.

The Iwa artist's biting became slightly rougher and Sasori tilted his head to expose more of his neck. Deidara ground his hips against Sasori's again, feeling his hardened member stand at attention. The red head's pants were too tight to be comfortable. He made his chakra strings attach to Deidara again. The blond willingly, with the help of Sasori, slid his hands down his lover's chest to his waistband. He hooked his fingers in them and tugged. Soon, the pants were off.

Sasori released his lover from the chakra strings, but the blond's hands didn't move. Deidara kissed the red head's collarbone before nipping it lightly. Sasori's breathing increased as he bit his lip to prevent a moan from escaping. Deidara glanced up at his partner and grinned. He bit harder and Sasori unwillingly let a moan escape his lips along with his body involuntarily arching. Deidara grinned. "Not loud enough, yeah," he whispered seductively against the red head's collarbone. "Whatever happened to not holding back, un?" he whispered again as he bit harder.

Sasori grabbed Deidara's shoulders roughly and let out a quiet, breathy moan. "What about it?" Sasori challenged back.

Deidara looked down at his aroused puppeteer and stared, challenging the Akasuna as well. He took the challenge and vowed to himself that he would hear Sasori moan his name by the end of the night. With that, the blond artist went to work. His hands slid down to the marionette's chest while he kissed and licked the hollow of his red headed lover's neck. Sasori tilted his head to the side, exhaling with pleasure. This was doing nothing to help his "problem." The blond's hand mouths opened up to nip at the soft pink nubs on the red head's chest. Sasori arched involuntarily, causing the terrorist to smirk.

The hand mouths took the nubs in and teased them with their tongues. Sasori shuddered, willing himself to not moan. A hand mouth bit down at the same time Deidara did. The marionette lost control. He groaned quietly, arching into his blond lover. "God, Dei," he breathed. Said blond took Sasori's ear lobe into his mouth and started to tease it between his teeth. Sasori shuddered pleasurably.

"You're being difficult, yeah," the young artist teased seductively, his warm breath on the puppeteer's ear. The Iwa-born slid a hand down between his partner's legs. He had the hand mouth lick the shaft of his lover's member. The tongue dragged up and down slowly, earning an arch and a louder moan from the red head beneath him. "Not loud enough, danna," he whispered.

The hand mouth took the head of Sasori's cock into it, teasing the slit with the tongue. Sasori gasped and stopped breathing for a short second. As the tongue ran along the slit again, Sasori released a louder moan. Deidara noticed his danna getting vocal and smirked. "I swear...I am going to hurt you, Deidara," he whispered before another moan pushed itself through the stoic puppet master's lips.

Deidara grinned. "But, danna...why hurt me when it feels so good, yeah?" he asked as he kissed the red head's jugular. He made his way to his danna's lips, trailing kisses and licks on the way up his jawline and cheek. Sasori's breathing quickened as the hand mouth kept licking and sucking his arousal. As soon as Deidara planted his lips on the Akasuna's, said red head allowed a moan to escape. The blond removed his hand mouth from the Suna-born's member and gently bit his bottom lip. Sasori gripped the blond's shoulders harder in both warning and pleasure. The younger moaned quietly.

Deidara sat up partially and stared down at his, clearly flustered, red head. He smirked. The Akasuna glared until he attached his chakra strings to the blond's hand. Deidara looked at him curiously as his hand found its way to his danna's face. The Suna-born stared at him expectantly through a very arousing glare. "You really are clueless," he smirked as he made the Iwa-born stick three fingers out. The blond watched intently as his red headed artist took the three fingers into his mouth nonchalantly. Deidara blushed watching the Suna-nin suck on his fingers in such an erotic way.

The blond smiled and bent down to the red head's neck. He bit it softly, teasing the tender flesh. Sasori moaned around his lover's fingers, the vibrations making said blond shudder. Seeing that Deidara's fingers were coated enough, Sasori bit the blond's fingers softly. Deidara removed them and blushed at what he was about to do. He dragged his fingers down Sasori's lean body to his backside. The marionette leaned back, closing his eyes, preparing for the pain that was about to come.

Deidara circled the tight ring of muscle before slipping a finger inside of Sasori. Said red head hissed at the uncomfortable feeling, but willed himself to calm down. His blond lover started to pump his finger in and out of the red head, earning him a shudder. Deidara inserted the second finger after receiving a buck from his Suna-born danna. Sasori hissed again, gripping Deidara's arms tight. "Danna-"

"Quiet, brat," he whispered through strangled breathing. The last thing the puppeteer wanted to hear was his Iwa lover apologizing for hurting him. Deidara started to scissor them like he felt his danna do the last time. Sasori winced and cursed under his breath, causing the blond to hesitate in inserting the last finger. The Suna-born nudged Deidara's head and the blond looked at him. "Go," he whispered before claiming his lover's lips with his own.

Deidara started to kiss back as he inserted the final finger. Sasori flinched back a bit until he started to kiss back again. The blond noticed the lack of dominance in his danna tonight. He didn't question it as of yet, however. If he did, it would spoil the moment and probably piss off the aroused Sasori, which he didn't want to even try to fathom. Brushing the thought aside, the Iwa-nin started to pump his fingers in and out of the marionette. He brushed something that made Sasori moan louder than before and he pulled away to look at the red head. The look on his face was a pleasured one. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open a little. The blond terrorist just stared for a moment. It was the most beautiful sight he ever laid eyes on. "Danna," he whispered as he claimed the red head's lips with his own.

Sasori kissed back and wrapped his arms possessively around the blond's neck. He bucked his hips against Deidara's signaling he was getting impatient. The Iwa-born got the hint and removed his fingers, earning a quiet moan at the exit from his partner. The Iwa artist shifted a little to a better position. He looked down at the aroused red head and his confidence got a major boost at the seductive grin the red head gave him. "You just going to look at me, or are you going to do something?" Sasori teased.

The blond grinned. He shrugged. "I need to think about it, yeah," he whispered back as he positioned himself at his partner's entrance. He leaned back down to his danna's neck and kissed it lightly. "It's rare I see you like this, un," he whispered as he thrust into the Akasuna.

The red head moaned and wrapped his arms around Deidara roughly. "Don't get used to it, brat," he breathed, trying to adjust to his partner. The blond artist waited as he kissed his danna softly. He knew it had to hurt Sasori, due to the simple fact that he was always the seme, well...mostly always. When the puppeteer's breathing evened out, he kissed Deidara's neck. "Move," he whispered.

The blond obliged and started to move in and out, sitting up to a kneeling position. He ran his hands up Sasori's arms and clasped their hands beside the Suna-born's head. As he stared down at his danna, he took in all the faces he never saw, or thought he'd see. His face went from hard and cold, to warm, lustful, and pleasured. Deidara smiled warmly as his pace increased. He never wanted this moment to end. This was Sasori fully opening up to him. As he studied the different expressions on his marionette's face, Deidara couldn't help but love him even more. He leaned down and claimed the red head's lips with his own.

The Akasuna kissed back just as eagerly, moaning into his partner's mouth and arching off the bed. His grip tightened on Deidara with each angled thrust. The blond was surprisingly fast. The Iwa-born broke the kiss and nipped softly at junction of Sasori's neck and shoulder. He moaned quietly against the tanned skin and Sasori shuddered under the warm breath. The red head wrapped his legs around Deidara's hips and nipped at the blond's ear. "Danna," the blond moaned as his thrusts got more intense and held more power.

The marionette thought he'd go insane while he took in all the feelings he never thought he'd feel with this simple shift of dominance. He felt Deidara grab hold of his member between their stomachs. Sometime during Sasori's "black out" moment, the blond had unclasped their hands to reach between them. The red head wasn't complaining, however. As he took in the double pleasure, Sasori moaned and gripped the blond's still clasped hand in his. When he opened his eyes, he saw the blond above him staring intently at him, a small smirk gracing his lips. "Dei-" he tried to say, but was cut off by a moan.

The blond took pleasure in his danna's inability to speak. He grinned and leaned down, biting at the tender flesh that was his danna's shoulder. Sasori responded with a moan and an arch. The Iwa artist felt a tightness in the pit of his stomach like a knot begging to be undone. His pace increased as did his force. The red head arched and moaned louder. "Deidara!" His grip tightened momentarily as he came and spilled his seed all over the two of them. Deidara felt the sudden contraction of his lover's muscles and released inside of him with a breathy, "Danna."

The Iwa-born hunched over above the Suna-born as his panting was heard over everything else. There was silence in the room as Sasori looked up at his blond lover. He looked exhausted and fulfilled. Sasori grinned. He brought his hand up to move the hair from the blond's face. With a gentle swoop, the Akasuna tucked the blond tresses behind the owner's ear. He grinned up at him, earning a sleepy smile from Deidara. Said blond felt his arms quiver. Sasori noticed it and pulled him on top of him. The Iwa-nin collapsed willingly without a fight. He laid his head on his danna's chest while the puppeteer ran his hands up and down his back.

"Danna?" Deidara whispered as he tried to sit up at least a little. Sasori lifted his head from the bed to look at him. A blush was on the pale skin of the blond. The Akasuna smirked. "Why, un?" he asked with a bit of curiosity.

Sasori couldn't help but laugh. He rolled onto his side, dragging Deidara with him. He stared into the blue eyes of his partner. He let a smile tug at the corners of his lips as he stared. He shrugged nonchalantly and closed his eyes. "I already told you. You are mine and I am yours," he whispered as he nuzzled his lips in the blond hair. He kissed the blond softly before continuing. "I took yours and you took mine," he said before relaxing.

Deidara blushed as he quickly looked up at his danna. Said red head cracked an eye open to grin at his blond lover. He closed his eye again when he saw Deidara smile warmly at him. Sasori had officially, in their eyes, taken his virginity. Sasori thought it fair to have Deidara take his as well. According to Deidara, your virginity is never truly gone until you willingly give it up. And that is exactly what he did with Sasori. The young Iwa native nuzzled his cheek against the Akasuna's chest as he smiled softly in the darkness. "I love you, danna," he whispered.

"Love you too, brat," came a reply. With that, both fell asleep in each other's arms, never to be disturbed or broken apart.

* * *

It was about noon when Deidara woke up from his peaceful sleep. As he stared at his sleeping red headed lover, he smiled warmly. It was then that he noticed that he always had nightmares before he met Sasori. But he also noticed that ever since they started to spend time together, the nightmares started to diminish to once every week, if that. The red head truly was something. He didn't even have to do anything. All he had to do was come around the blond and he was instantly happy and relieved.

"It's kind of hard to sleep when you have someone staring at you with that intensity," the monotonous voice came, causing the blond to jump.

When he was snapped from his trance, he saw that Sasori didn't even have to open up his eyes to see that he was staring. Deidara grinned and snickered quietly. "Sorry, danna," he whispered as he turned onto his other side, back to Sasori.

Sasori opened his eyes and saw the blond's bare back. He studied it for a minute before letting his hand reach out to run his finger up and down his spine. The Iwa-nin shuddered and curled up a bit. The Akasuna smirked and pulled his lover back against his chest. He let his head rest on his shoulder with his eyes closed. "Something is bothering you," he said quietly. The red head let his hand trail to the blond's stomach where it stopped.

Deidara sighed and rested his hand on Sasori's. He felt his Suna lover start to kiss at his neck and he smiled. "Nothing's bothering me, danna," he whispered, tilting his head to the side.

Sasori smirked and kept kissing, pulling him closer possessively. "We should get dressed," he whispered, not making a move to get up any time soon. Deidara nodded and just let his danna kiss him. He turned in the Akasuna's arms and faced him. He was met with warm brown eyes staring back at him. The red head brought his hand up to the blond's cheek and rubbed his thumb along it softly. Deidara kissed it gently and kissed the Suna-nin's lips.

A knock at the door was heard and the two lovers sighed in unison. They looked at each other and kissed once more before separating. They tried to find their clothes that were sprawled all throughout the room. Sasori found his pants and Deidara found his. They quickly slipped them on and Deidara fell back on the bed. The red head went over to the door and opened it, resuming his stoic expression. In the door way stood a shirtless Itachi and a sleepy Kisame. He blinked. "What?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame.

Itachi glanced back at a half naked Deidara and flashed a smirk. The blond raised a brow and stared curiously. The raven haired man turned his head to look back at the stoic red head and Kisame smirked. "We're goin' out. Want anything?" Kisame asked, resting his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.

Sasori looked back to the blond and saw him shake his head. He turned his attention back to the other two and shook his respectfully. "Kisame," Itachi said lowly. Kisame nodded and left the three. The Uchiha turned his attention back to the red head and glanced at the blond. "I see. So you two are lovers," Itachi stated. Sasori nodded nonchalantly and Deidara sat up. Itachi glared in his direction and Deidara glared back.

Sasori stepped between the two. "If you want to fight, take it outside. Not in my room," Sasori said, leaving the doorway.

Itachi let himself in and stared at Deidara. "I don't wish to fight. I was simply sent to confirm something," he said in his usual monotonous voice. Deidara stared skeptically and shrugged before laying back down.

"Itachi-" Kisame called as he ran back with a smirk. He stopped and grinned, forgetting everything. "So! Who's the seme?" he grinned.

Itachi sent him a glare and Deidara and Sasori just exchanged glances. They both smirked and Itachi blinked. Kisame burst into laughter. "I get it! So Sasori always dominates, huh?" he laughed.

Sasori smirked. "Not exactly," he said monotonously as if it were nothing. Deidara whipped his head toward the red head and blinked. Sasori sent a smirk back at him. The blond grinned in return.

Itachi saw the exchange and nodded. He made his way out and Kisame stood dumbfounded. "Wait...'Sori...you tellin' me the brat was the seme?" Kisame said with apparent confusion.

Deidara grinned and sat up. "I was, un," he said confidently. Sasori just glanced at him. That simple glance said not to let it go to his head.

"Stop jokin', guys," Kisame laughed.

"He was," Sasori said, getting up. He cracked his neck and walked to his closet and put on a shirt. He crossed his arms and looked at Kisame.

"Kisame!" Itachi called from the other room. The shark jumped and ran out snickering. The next thing heard was: _WHACK! _"What the hell, Itachi?!"

* * *

**TBC**


	17. New Threat and a Mistake

A/N: Sorry for the Kisame idiocy last chapter. I had to be an idiot XD I could not resist. Anyways. There will only be like one or two more chapters. These next two chapters will be dedicated to where the sequel picks up. And don't worry. If you're reading this, I have already started working on the sequel. Oh yes. I multitask XD Just kidding. Anyways. On with the story! Oh. And if you have any questions, just ask You shouldn't though, cuz it is kind of straight forward. Also...I beg of you!!! Please don't stop reading just because of what happens!!! And also!!! Don't kill me!!!!!!! Ja ne!

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted **

_Chapter 17: New Threat and a Mistake _

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Deidara and Sasori made it to the living room and sat on the couch. Hidan had alerted them that Pein would be calling an emergency meeting soon. According to Pein's definition of "emergency," that usually meant anywhere in the next ten minutes. Deidara sat in silence for once. The puppeteer was a little uneasy himself. He figured it had to be something concerning Orochimaru and Kabuto. He rethought that, considering they were both dead thanks to his Black Fever poison. Sasori was at a loss.

"Guys. Get your fucking asses in here," Hidan called. Sasori and Deidara rolled their eyes, but got up nonetheless. They walked to the meeting room which was conveniently next to Pein's door. They took their seats and awaited Pein's presence. All looked nervous and solemn, especially Hidan and Kakuzu. Sasori thought they were the ones that informed Pein of the crisis.

Not two minutes later, Pein showed up. He took his seat and looked over everyone in silence. He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "Hidan and Kakuzu have informed me of a new threat. This is not like anything else we defeated and easily assassinated. Instead, it is an apprentice of some sorts." Everyone sat at attention, their interest peaked. Pein continued, glaring at the floor. "This threat is after the Jinchuuriki as well. This can pose as a problem," he said, leaning forward.

Everyone was quiet until Hidan broke it. "Why can't we just fucking kill this threat?" Hidan suggested, crossing his arms indignantly.

Pein turned his hard stare to the silver haired Jashinist. "That would be a good plan. But how would we find them and how would we know where they would strike first?" the leader challenged. Hidan glared at him and scoffed. He returned his sight to everyone else, glancing at them shortly. "I don't wish to do this...but we must. It is for the best." Everyone straightened. Leader said he didn't want to do something. This was not, by any means, good. "We have to split up the teams. Each of you will be assigned to a Jinchuuriki. Is that understood?" he said monotonously.

Everyone nodded, except for Sasori and Deidara. Pein turned his attention to those two. "There a problem? Sasori? Deidara?" he asked.

Sasori remained quiet, as did Deidara. The puppeteer spoke up. "The brat isn't ready to be by himself yet," he said seriously. The blond glared at Sasori, even though he was certain he was right.

Pein stared for a moment and rested his arms on his knees, sitting forward a bit. "What do you suggest we do, then, Sasori?" he asked with a bit of a temper.

Sasori remained quiet until a thought popped into his head. "There isn't much we _can_ do. We cannot, however, expect to split everyone up. That's suicide. Have you forgotten that Uzumaki Naruto has gotten stronger? It would take at least two Akatsuki to take him down. Gaara of the Sand can prove as a threat as well. We should have those two set aside. The others I do not see a problem. If this new threat is so strong, he can simply apprehend those two. I am not suggesting to simply give up. Don't get me wrong. I am simply saying that it is a suicide mission to send one person for each Jinchuuriki." Everyone stared in awe. Quick thinking. Pein stared, contemplating the puppeteer's words.

"Puppet man is right," Hidan said, nodding. "We should just let the bastard catch those two and take 'em away from them," Hidan reasoned.

Pein pressed his forefingers to his temples and rubbed small circles. He was getting a headache. "We can't be sure that plan will work. The new threat will most likely capture them, extract the bijuu, and use it for their own reasons. We cannot rely on that plan. It's irrational and much too risky. If anyone else has any other ideas, I will be in my office. I agree with Sasori, but we cannot afford to do that," he said, standing. "This meeting is adjourned. We will meet again tomorrow. I expect ideas by then," he said, leaving.

As soon as he was out of sight, everyone exchanged glances. "What the fuck are we gonna do?" Hidan grumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

Sasori and Deidara exchanged glances before Sasori turned away. "Leader is right. We can't wait for the threat to apprehend the Jinchuuriki and extract the bijuu before we move in. And we have no idea what the habits of this person are. Our best bet would be for us to all keep surveillance. We should keep a close watch over the Jinchuuriki and watch for any abnormalities," the Akasuna reasoned.

Itachi blinked and closed his eyes. "What if leader is onto something?" he asked simply. Everyone's attention turned to the, usually silent, Uchiha elder. Itachi felt their stares and opened his eyes to glare at everyone. "I am not in favor of splitting up. But, what if that is the only thing we can do?" he reasoned stoically.

Kisame and Hidan exchanged glances. "But, Itachi, the brat certainly isn't ready to be by himself. Sasori already said that-"

"I am well aware of what he said. If Deidara was not ready to be out on his own, he wouldn't have ever been invited to this organization," the Uchiha said, glaring at the opposing members. He turned his glare to the blond Iwa-nin in silence. Deidara returned the glare. "Well? Don't you know how to speak up for yourself? Are you really so weak?" he patronized.

Deidara stood, as did Itachi. Tension rose between the two. It was bad enough Deidara had a grudge against the Sharingan user, but it was pretty bad that these two had to put up with each other in the same room. "Don't insult me, yeah," he said coldly. Everyone had to do a double take. They had never heard that tone in the blond's voice. Sasori had, but that was another story. "I'm fine on my own, un," he said, turning on his heel and stomping off to his room. The door slammed and everyone exchanged glances.

Sasori sighed in frustration. He stood and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Deidara is stronger than any of you think," he said simply. Itachi's glare landed on the puppeteer, urging him to continue. Sasori returned the glare with more fire than the raven haired teen remembered. "He dealt with Orochimaru by himself. He's fine on his own. He just has...attachment issues," he said with a bit of regret.

"And whose fault do you think that to be, Sasori?" Itachi challenged.

Kisame and Hidan looked back and forth between the two fired up Akatsuki members. Kakuzu sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Itachi, shut the hell up," he finally said, throwing his calculator against the table in frustration. He stood and his beady eyes found the enraged red of Itachi's. "If I'm not mistaken, you and Kisame are no different than Sasori and the brat," he said gruffly.

Itachi turned to Kakuzu coolly. "I know how to differentiate between missions and my personal life. He does not," he said monotonously. His Sharingan rotated once, showing his anger.

Kakuzu just glared and scoffed after a few minutes. "I'm not sticking up for the immature blond, but you need to lay off. No one can be as cold as you are, Itachi. Don't expect Deidara to take after you when it comes to relationships. It's hypocritical to speak of others' businesses," he said as he left in a foul mood as always. Hidan blinked a few times and smirked. He followed his partner and left the others to their business.

Sasori looked between the remaining members. Konan, Zetsu, Itachi, and Kisame. Konan looked indifferent as always. Zetsu had long stopped paying attention. Itachi and Kisame looked like they were together on this matter. The puppeteer released a sigh. "I understand it's my fault for not ending it before it got out of hand. I admit my fault. But that gives you no right to judge me or the br-...Deidara. He's perfectly capable of being out on his own. He can take care of himself." He looked back at his door. _'I just don't give him credit for it like I should.'_

Itachi tilted his head to the side in confusion. "If he is perfectly capable of being out on his own, why did you bring it to the leader's attention that he was not?" Itachi asked reasonably. In truth, it made no sense. Sasori contradicted himself, a rarity in the Akatsuki. Deidara really was messing with the usually stoic puppeteer.

Sasori glared at the Sharingan user. He really didn't wish to answer that. It was admitting a weakness. That was the last thing he needed was to put his weakness out there for the whole team to know, though most already knew. Itachi just wanted to hear him say it so that he could "win" this argument. Sasori turned on his heel and made his way to Deidara's room. "He's not the only one that's attached, Uchiha," he said as he disappeared from the others' sights.

He saw Deidara's door closed and he tried to twist the knob. It was locked. He sighed heavily before knocking. It was a few minutes before Deidara opened the door. His blue eyes were steely blue, showing he was angry or upset. Sasori wasn't too sure yet. He would find out though. "Danna...what is-"

Sasori pushed his way in, dragging Deidara in with him. He closed the door and turned his attention to the blond. His stare was hard and serious. Deidara blinked curiously, until he got the hint. He smirked and shrugged before going over to his bed. "We need to talk, brat," was all the puppeteer said before leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

The Iwa-nin sighed before facing the red headed Akasuna. His blue eye was warm and he was wearing his trademark grin. "It's over, yeah?" he said, still grinning. Sasori just stared at the blond. He truly didn't want to answer that, but it was for the best. Deidara snickered and lowered his head so his face was hidden. "I'm too attached, yeah. So are you, un," he said, dropping his hands to his sides, his fists balled up desperately. It was hard for the blond to accept this, but it was what Sasori wanted.

Deidara lifted his head and grinned hatefully at the Suna-born. "I thought you were different, yeah," he whispered. He started to gather his things, putting on his Akatsuki cloak and strapping on his clay pouches. He had enough clay to last him for a few weeks. He walked over to the door and stared at Sasori, devoid of emotions. He smiled warmly and kissed his puppeteer before grabbing the door knob. "I hope you find happiness, danna," he whispered before attempting to open the door.

Sasori growled under his breath and slammed the door shut, forcing Deidara to stop. The blond avoided eye contact. The red head felt his anger growing. This was what he wanted, right? They had to break up. It was for the best. That way if either of them died, neither of them would be affected. If the feelings they shared for each other were broken off now, it would prevent any heartache or depression later, when it was too late. The thing Sasori knew, and he refused to acknowledge, was that it was already too late.

"Sasori, I need to speak with leader, un," the blond said in a warning tone.

The red head felt the Iwa artist attempt to open the door again, but kept his hand on the door firmly, keeping it shut. Deidara still wouldn't look at him. "You don't understand the full situation, brat," he said monotonously.

The blond terrorist laughed pathetically. "I understand completely, yeah," he said, lifting his head to glare at the door, purposely avoiding the marionette's eyes. "We are too attached, un. It's not good for the missions. You figure if we break up now, no pain will exist when, or if, either of us die, yeah?" he said with a sick grin. "It's fine. I didn't expect you to stay with me, un. I knew this would happen. That's why I tried, but failed miserably, not to get too attached to you, un. But, danna," he said, finally looking the red head straight in the face. "This won't make me stop loving you...I will always love you, danna," he said with a smile that was only meant for Sasori.

The red head faltered a bit, his strength fading temporarily. This shouldn't be that hard. It shouldn't be that difficult to break it off with someone that is supposed to mean nothing to you. As he looked into the blue eye of his partner, he saw the hurt and despair bottled up within him. It pained the puppet, but he, as usual, wouldn't show it, nor acknowledge it. He had no need to anymore. "Dei," Sasori started.

Deidara put up his hand to silence the Akasuna. Sasori blinked at the blond's sudden coldness and lack of respect. "I understand your reasoning, danna. That's why I'm not fighting it, un. I would appreciate it if you don't call me _'Dei'_ anymore, yeah. It's for the best..." he said quieter than before, losing his composure slowly with each word spoken. The red head didn't understand how painful it was for the Iwa artist to be standing there in front of him right now. All the blond needed was to be alone. That's all he wanted for now. He looked at Sasori again. "Let me go, Sasori," he said, barely above a whisper.

Sasori studied the blond's eyes for a moment before sighing quietly. He hesitantly took his hand off the door. He grabbed Deidara's chin and forced him to look at him. It wasn't forceful like the Iwa-nin expected, though. This hold was loving and gentle just like always. As brown gazed into blue, Sasori felt his composure crack. "I love you, Deidara," he whispered before kissing him chastely. He released all contact before opening the door and walking out a bit. He looked over his shoulder at the blond and smiled. "Be careful," he said quietly in case anyone was listening.

Deidara smiled and nodded. "I know you do, yeah. You be careful too, yeah," he said before they went their separate ways. Sasori to his room, Deidara to Pein's office.

* * *

**TBC**


	18. Mission Assignments for Akatsuki

A/N: I apologize!! And also!! Things will get better. I swear! In the sequel. I'm still debating the name. As for the last chapter...here it is. Now. Understand that this is not where it ends. It will end in the sequel. I assure you. And there will be lemons and all that good stuff. As soon as I post this last chapter, I will post the first, and possibly second, chapter(s) of the sequel. The name of it will be posted at the end of this chapter, where I usually put "TBC." Anyways...please forgive me!!! I swear it will get better!!! I sound like a broken record...but I don't care. I don't wanna lose my readers T-T They mean so much to me. Anyways. Nothing will really change in the sequel, except for the relationship between our two favorite Akatsuki members, but I had to have you guys hooked at the end. Sorry, but the ending will be what I am famous for! Ja ne!

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**Art is Art No Matter How Corrupted**

_Chapter 18: Mission Assignments for Akatsuki

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_

Deidara knocked on Pein's office door confidently. He was hurting, but he would not allow it to weaken him. Especially not in front of the leader of the organization he was a part of. A faint voice was heard on the opposite side, signaling Deidara it was fine to come in. The blond went into the office and closed the door before turning to his orange haired Ame-nin leader. Pein's eyes shone in the usually dim lit room. Now, however, it was fully lit. No candles or torches lit the room. Instead, it was regular lights like in the other Akatsuki members' rooms. Pein stared at Deidara for a bit before speaking. "I assume you have something to tell me, Deidara?" he asked monotonously.

The blond nodded and stepped forward to the seat that was offered to him. He seated himself quietly before taking in a deep breath. For some odd reason, he was rather anxious. He looked the leader in the eyes seriously before speaking. "Have you come to a decision about what we are going to do about the Jinchuuriki, un?" he asked seriously.

Pein nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Unfortunately, since I have received no more complaints or suggestions, I have. We are to do as planned. What is this all about, Deidara?" he asked seriously, boring holes into the blond's eyes.

Deidara glanced away before returning his sight, softer this time, to his leader's hard glare. "Sasori thinks we should keep surveillance on the Jinchuuriki since we don't know the habits are of this threat, yeah. He said we should keep watch on the Jinchuuriki and keep an eye out for any abnormalities. But, my idea is to still split everyone up, yeah," the blond informed him.

Pein's eyes held amusement. "Oh? Go on," he urged, willing the blond to continue so he could hear more.

The Iwa born sighed before continuing. "Sasori said to keep surveillance of them, but I think each Akatsuki should get a Jinchuuriki to monitor, un. We won't act unless we are either given an order, or if we see any abnormalities in the bijuu carriers' routines, yeah," he explained. "I think we should keep in touch with each other and update each other, or at least meet every couple of days, un."

Pein blinked at the blond's reasoning. Sasori was right when he told everyone that he wasn't so weak. The blond had a brain on him. The thing he couldn't understand was what Sasori meant when he said Deidara wasn't ready to be on his own. The leader saw the blond perfectly ready to be on his own. Pein debated this for a few moments. He nodded. "I agree. But, I must ask," he said, leaning forward on his arms over his desk. Deidara stared intently, his full attention on him. "Why the sudden agreement, Deidara? Something happen between you and another member? You looked nervous when I suggested that we split up," Pein said seriously.

Deidara slumped a little before regaining himself. He sat up straight with his dignity still in tact. "Nothing happened, un. Sasori and I just decided to call it quits, yeah. But this will not affect anything involving missions or anything else, yeah," he said whistfully.

Pein had to blink a few times. Sasori and Deidara broke up? This was indeed news to the young leader. He shook off his surprise and shook his head. "I certainly hope it will not affect your ability to perform," he said suggestively. Deidara shook his head. Pein nodded. "Good. Then, gather everyone in the meeting room. Tell them I have called a final meeting." Deidara nodded and stood to leave. "Oh, and, Deidara?" Pein called. The blond turned to his leader over his shoulder. "Is there a certain Jinchuuriki you wish to keep an eye on?" he asked.

* * *

Deidara blinked and thought for a moment. He nodded. "Gaara of the Sand," he said with an eerie, deadly tone.

Minutes passed by and the meeting was called. Everyone awaited Pein's presence, all the while, staring between Deidara and Sasori. Both were surprisingly civil and unaffected by anything, given the circumstances. Pein entered the room and everyone's attention wavered to the leader. It wasn't normal for the Akatsuki members to not give their full attention to the Ame leader. Noticing this, Pein cleared his throat.

Everyone's full attention was on him now. "It has come to my attention that you all have discussed keeping surveillance on the Jinchuuriki," he started, taking a seat. "It is decided. We will still split up the teams. Instead of apprehending them, however, we will merely keep an eye out and study their habits, hang outs, routines, and anything else that may aid us. However, if you any of you sense any abnormalities in the Jinchuuriki, you are to report it to me. Is that understood?" he asked.

Everyone nodded and glanced between Sasori and Deidara, knowing full well one of them said something to him. Pein nodded and continued his assignments. "Alright. Each of you will be assigned to a certain bijuu. Seeing that there is nine bijuu and nine of us, there will be no problems." He took out a paper and flipped it open. "First, Isonade the Sanbi. Isonade is a shark shaped Bijuu with a sharp horn on the forehead. It lives in the deep waters on the West of Japan. Kisame, you are to take care of this one," he said as he threw a scroll to Kisame, holding all the information he would know. Kisame nodded and took off.

"Next, Sokou the Yonbi. Sokou is a bijuu that looks like a reptile. It was a creature that lived near Mount Fuji. Because of the toxic gas and the volcanic ash, he was transformed into a half-rooster, half-snake monster. Sasori, you will take this one." He threw a scroll to the puppet master, said red head catching it easily. He hesitated for a while until he could hear Deidara's bijuu.

"Houkou the Gobi. Houkou is a bijuu which looks like a five-tailed dog. Each tail of this creature represents one elemental power: Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning and Fire. Itachi," Pein said as he threw a scroll to Itachi. The Uchiha caught it gracefully and nonchalantly made his way out.

"Raijuu the Rokubi. Raijuu, a bijuu in the form of weasel, has four legs and very sharp claws. Its cry sounds like thunder. I will take this one." He set aside that scroll for himself. He picked up another one. "Kaku the Shichibi." He paused and looked at Deidara. "This one was originally for you, but we already agreed." Deidara nodded quietly. Sasori glanced at him uneasily. "Kaku is a bijuu in the form of badger. It has seven tails, and is the smallest bijuu out of the nine; though it is the most cunning and stealthy. Kaku hunts its prey underground most of the time. Kakuzu," he said as he threw the scroll at him. The money hungry man caught it with a snicker at the odds of Kakuzu being paired with Kaku. Kakuzu just smacked him and went.

Pein rolled his eyes. "Yamata no Orochi, or Hachimata, the Hachibi. Yamata no Orochi is a Snake bijuu. It has crimson red eyes, eight heads and eight tails and has the power of the Demon world, a symbol of evil. Each head of Yamata no Orochi represents a symbol: Soul, Ghost, Evil, Devil, Monstrous, Kill, The After world and Death. This bijuu is assigned to Zetsu." The plant man nodded as he caught the scroll. He took off slowly.

Pein cracked his neck, seeing the eagerness in Sasori for Deidara's. The remaining three weren't exactly the best. "Nekomata the Nibi. Nekomata is a bijuu in the form of cat, and possesses the power of death. This Bijuu lives in the "Forest of Death," to the north. His appearance is a black cat monster. Hidan," he said, throwing the scroll to the Jashinist. Said man left with a flip of the middle finger, a grin, and a "See ya later, bastards."

Pein resisted the urge to throw something at him. Sasori suddenly became very nervous. Kyuubi was a handful. Shukkaku was an even bigger handful. Neither sat well with Sasori. Pein saw this and continued on. "Kyuubi no Youko. This is a bijuu in the shape of a nine-tailed fox, and the strongest of them all. The reason he is so powerful is simple: Kyuubi has an unlimited amount of power, earning it the "King of Bijuu" title." There was silence for a bit while Pein rolled up the scroll. He handed it to Konan. Sasori's jaw dropped. The only one left was...

"Are you mad?" he snarled involuntarily.

Pein's angry silver eyes were directed to Sasori. "Are you questioning my decision, Sasori?" he asked, more like growled. Sasori remained quiet with a steady glare. "Last time I checked, you are not the leader. Do not question my judgment. Is that understood?"

Sasori growled and lowered his vision angrily. "Yes, leader-sama," he ground out.

Pein handed Deidara the Ichibi's scroll, the blond taking it nonchalantly. Sasori's fist shook with anger. Pein and Deidara exchanged glances. "You are sure?" Pein asked before completely releasing the scroll to Deidara's care. The blond nodded. The leader nodded as he released the scroll. He grabbed his own and left, leaving the two ex-lovers alone.

The Iwa-nin started to leave until Sasori grabbed his wrist roughly. Deidara turned to look at him. His eyes were hard and cold. The blond just stared, meeting his glare. Silence passed by them until the Suna born broke it. "You better come back alive, brat," he growled.

Deidara nearly snorted. He broke up with him and now he was worried about him? People in Akatsuki really were bipolar. He wrenched his wrist out of Sasori's grip and turned on his heel. "Nice faith, danna," he said sarcastically with a bit of anger and hatred laced in it.

Sasori stood there silently. He sighed quietly before looking down at his scroll. It had to be done.

* * *

**END **

**A/N: **Alright. So keep in mind. I did say there would be a sequel. And I promise you there will be. Sorry this chapter is so short. I swear I will make it up in the sequel. And as for Sasori and Deidara...shit happens. Anywho...I am currently working on the sequel. The name of it will be:

**Fated Reunion**

Hope you'll read!!!


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